THE  LIFE  OF 
ROBERT  HARE 

EDGAR  FAHS  SMITH 


THE  LIFE 

OF 

ROBERT  HARE 

AN  AMERICAN  CHEMIST 


ROBERT  HARE 
From  the  Oil  Portrait  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 

Commenced  by  Neagle,  1858 
Finished  by  J.  L.  Williams,  1877 


THE  LIFE 

OF 

ROBERT   HARE 

AN  AMERICAN  CHEMIST 
(1781-1858) 


BY 


EDGAR  FAHS  SMITH 

•  « 

PROVOST    OF    THE    UNIVERSITY    OF   PENNSYLVANIA 


WITH  A  PORTRAIT  IN  COLOR 
AND  FOUR  DOUBLETONES 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  LONDON 
J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

1917 


\A 


COPYRIGHT,  1917,  BY  J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 


PUBLISHED  MAY,  1917 


PRINTED  BY  J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

AT  THE  WASHINGTON  SQUARE  PRESS 

PHILADELPHIA,  U.  S.  A. 


TO 
MY  MOTHER 


3G03S8 


PREFACE 

THIS  volume  contains  the  life  story  of  one  of  the  greatest 
scientists  of  our  country.  His  chief  delight  was  in  chemical 
pursuits,  although  his  attachment  to  physics  was  also  great. 
He  was  a  true  pioneer  in  these  divisions  of  science.  His  ex- 
perimental contributions  were  of  a  very  high  order  in  their 
day.  They  commanded  respect  and  admiration  then  and 
continue  to  do  so  in  the  present  because  they  represent  the 
beginnings  of  much  that  has  come  to  be  of  prime  importance. 

When,  in  the  future,  the  contributions  of  America's 
earliest  representatives  in  the  many  fields  of  science  are 
scanned  more  closely,  an  abundance  of  noteworthy  material 
will  be  discovered  and  our  country,  though  young,  will  be 
found  to  have  given  her  share  to  the  sum  total  of  human 
knowledge. 

The  purpose  of  the  writer  has  been  to  assemble  the  labors 
of  Robert  Hare  in  such  a  form  that  students  of  chemistry 
may  learn  to  know  him  better,  and  realize  the  exalted  place 
to  which  he  is  entitled  in  the  history  of  chemistry  in  this 
country.  He  was  a  chemical  philosopher  with  keen  and  origi- 
native powers.  It  is  remarkable  that  he  should  have  achieved 
so  much  when  his  preparation  was  so  meagre.  He  blazed 
the  way  by  his  experimental  work  and  in  his  theoretical 
observations  in  chemical  constitution.  His  "  Compendium 
of  Chemistry,"  now  antiquated,  was  a  store-house  of  original 
observations.  He  had  no  model.  He  advanced  indepen- 
dently and,  as  his  knowledge  increased,  developed  new  lines. 

The  writer,  at  one  time  ignorant  of  Hare  and  of  his 
unique  as  well  as  remarkable  labors,  has  become,  through  an 
intimate  study  of  his  work,  an  enthusiast  in  regard  to  him 
and,  therefore,  has  ventured  to  present  this  story,  told  largely 

rii 


viii  PREFACE 

by  Hare  himself  in  a  series  of  unpublished  letters,  and  in 
other  documents  which  were  practically  buried  in  forgotten 
journals  and  pamphlets,  while  some  did  appear  in  the  Ameri- 
can Journal  of  Science  J  to  which  Hare  contributed  the  greater 
portion  of  his  experimental  conclusions.  The  writer's  sincere 
thanks  are  due  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Journal  for  permis- 
sion to  use  this  precious  material  so  generously,  and  to  the 
American  Philosophical  Society  for  the  extracts  made  from 
its  Proceedings  and  Transactions,  as  well  as  to  Fisher's 
"  Life  of  Benjamin  Silliman,"  from  Which  were  gleaned 
data  of  a  more  intimate  character  regarding  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  and  his  devoted  friend  Silliman.  To  T.  Truxton 
Hare,  Esq.,  a  great-grandson  of  Robert  Hare,  as  well  as  to 
Dean  John  Frazer,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  the 
writer  would  express  his  great  indebtedness  for  many  un- 
printed  letters  and  the  privilege  of  using  portions  of  others 
which  illuminated  many  points  in  this  life  story,  which  other- 
wise would  have  lacked  completeness. 

Robert  Hare,  an  American  chemist,  will  surely  live  in  the 
memory  of  all  who  become  acquainted  with  him  through  his 
epoch-making  contributions  to  that  science  which  is  so  closely 
interwoven  with  the  welfare,  comfort  and  happiness  of 
mankind. 

E.  F.  S. 

UNIVEKSITY  OP  PENNSYLVANIA 
PHILADELPHIA 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818 1 

SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847 65 

THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  .  .  441 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

ROBERT  HARE,  FROM  THE  OIL  PORTRAIT  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF 
PENNSYLVANIA Frontispiece 

THE  SECOND  HOME  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 87 

LECTURE  ROOM  OF  ROBERT  HARE 179 

MEDALLION  PORTRAIT  BY  H.  SAUNDERS,  1856 410 

ROBERT  HARE  IN  ADVANCED  AGE 493 


THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

AN  AMERICAN  CHEMIST 

FIRST  PERIOD 

1781-1818 

IN  Philadelphia,  during  the  last  two  decades  of  the  18th 
Century,  occurred  many  of  the  most  important  events  in 
the  history  of  the  Western  World.  That  city  was  then  the 
leading  city  of  our  country.  It  was  the  richest  city.  It  led 
in  all  important  undertakings  of  the  day.  Congress  had  long 
deliberated  there.  In  Philadelphia,  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence was  written,  and  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  was  framed.  Noted  for  its  wealth  and  for  its  influence 
in  all  matters  of  moment  to  the  young  and  growing  Nation, 
Philadelphia  was  accorded  the  unenviable  distinction  of  being 
very  wicked.  Several  devastating  epidemics  of  yellow  fever 
had  occasioned  the  thought  in  the  minds  of  some  people  that 
God  was  punishing  the  city.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  people 
were  sobered  by  these  visitations  of  the  plague,  and  many 
instances  of  self-sacrifice  were  recorded.  It  was  during  these 
dreaded  times  that  the  celebrated  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush  ren- 
dered such  signal  service,  claiming  that  his  administration 
of  mercury  and  blood-letting  was  the  only  hope  of  recovery 
from  the  fatal  disease,  thereby  contributing  to  the  science 
of  medicine. 

In  Philadelphia,  in  1781,  Robert  Morris,  the  lofty-minded 
and  far-seeing  financier  of  the  Revolution,  founded  the  first 
and  most  opulent  bank — the  Bank  of  North  America. 

In  Philadelphia,  as  nowhere  else  in  America,  flourished 
science.  Franklin  was  omnipresent;  his  wonderful  experi- 
ments on  electricity  had  received  world-wide  recognition. 
Joseph  Priestley,  seeking  a  shelter  from  persecution,  had 


LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

come  from  England.  He  associated  freely  with  the  men  of 
science  in  the  city,  meeting  them  in  their  homes  and  at  inter- 
vals in  the  hall  of  the  now  venerable  American  Philosophical 
Society,  upon  the  pages  of  whose  Transactions  later  appeared 
his  final  efforts  to  establish  the  strange  doctrine  of  phlogiston. 
In  Philadelphia,  in  1792,  was  founded  the  oldest  chemical 
society  in  the  world — the  Chemical  Society  of  Philadelphia. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  so  few  of  its  publications  have  come 
down  to  posterity  for,  though  its  existence  was  short  and  its 
endeavors  were  of  a  pioneer  character,  they  were  of  no  mean 
order,  contributions  of  far-reaching  importance  being  made 
by  it  to  the  scientific  world. 

In  Philadelphia,  during  this  important  period,  began  the 
life  of  one  of  America's  greatest  chemists — Robert  Hare — 
born  on  the  seventeenth  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-one.  One  pub- 
lication describes  him  as  "  the  greatest  American  light  of 
chemical  science,"  while  another  ranks  him  with  Sir  Humphry 
Davy,  Volta,  Priestley  and  Berzelius.  He  made  his  advent 
into  the  field  of  chemical  discovery  when  about  twenty  years 
of  age,  and  for  fifty  years  he  was  regarded  as  an  unimpeach- 
able authority  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  chemical  research. 

Upon  tracing  his  lineage,  we  find  that  his  father  was 
Robert  Hare,  an  Englishman  by  birth,  who  came  to  America 
in  1773.  He  was  an  educated  man,  of  good  family  and  of 
refined  tastes,  who  married  Margaret  Willing,  daughter  of 
Charles  Willing,  whose  family  ranked  high  in  the  social 
world  of  Old  Philadelphia.  The  elder  Hare  was  not  without 
honor  in  the  country  of  his  adoption,  as  evidenced  by  his 
membership  in  the  Convention  which  framed  the  first  Consti- 
tution of  Pennsylvania;  by  his  becoming  Speaker  of  the 
Senate  of  the  State;  and  by  his  occupancy  (1789-1805)  of  a 
seat  in  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania. To  Robert  Hare  and  Margaret  Willing  were  born 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  3 

five  sons  and  one  daughter.  The  younger  Robert  attained 
to  the  greatest  distinction,  although  his  brother,  Charles  Will- 
ing Hare,  reached  a  very  honorable  position  at  the  bar. 
John  Powel  Hare,  the  sixth  child,  later  known  as  John  Hare 
Powel,  after  adoption  by  his  maternal  aunt,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Willing  Powel,  became  Secretary  of  the  U.  S.  Legation  at 
London;  subsequently,  he  served  as  Major  of  Volunteers 
under  General  Thomas  Cadwalader,  and  in  due  time  was 
advanced  to  a  Colonelcy  in  the  Regular  Army  of  the  United 
States  on  the  Staff  of  General  Winfield  Scott.  Impatient 
of  inactivity,  he  left  the  Army.  He  was  a  charter  Trustee 
of  Lafayette  College  and  at  one  time,  like  his  father,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Senate.  There  fail  any  records  of  the  life 
histories  of  the  remaining  children  of  Robert  Hare  and  his 
wife,  Margaret. 

Robert  Hare,  the  elder,  was  a  celebrated  brewer. 
"  Hare's  American  Porter  "  was  widely  known,  although 
beer  was  brewed  in  Philadelphia  for  several  years  before  the 
Revolutionary  War.  Westcott *  remarks,  "  Hare's  brewery 
stood  at  the  S.  E.  Corner  of  Callowhill  and  New  Market 
Streets.  On  the  evening  of  the  first  of  April,  1776,  the  brew- 
ery was  entirely  destroyed  by  fire,  making  a  conflagration 
which  was  long  talked  of  in  the  city."  And  in  the  General 
Advertiser  for  November  2, 1790,  there  appeared  this  notice: 

"  Sunday  morning,  about  4  o'clock,  the  brew  house  of  Mr. 
Hare,  in  the  Northern  Liberties  of  this  City  [Philadelphia] 
was  discovered  to  be  on  fire,  and  notwithstanding  the  utmost 
exertions  of  the  citizens,  a  great  part  of  it  was  burnt." 

Early  prints  report,  however,  that  the  plant  was  rebuilt 
and  the  business  resumed  with  its  usual  industry. 

Returning  to  Robert  Hare,  the  younger,  a  very  natural 
desire  manifests  itself  to  know  as  much  as  possible  of  his 

1  "  Biographies  of  Philadelphians,"  by  Thompson  Westcott,  vol. 
ii,  Part  L 


4  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

early  youth.  Singularly  enough  the  very  meagre  accounts 
of  him  fail  to  mention  this  interesting  period,  and  one  won- 
ders in  what  way  were  acquired  the  foundations  for  the 
astounding  mental  equipment  displayed  by  him  in  his  young 
manhood  and  more  mature  years.  Inference  would  ascribe 
to  his  father  full  and  sole  credit  for  having  personally  super- 
vised his  youthful  tutelage,  and  this  inference  seems  con- 
clusive from  the  certain  knowledge  that  in  the  instance  of  his 
other  sons,  Hare,  the  elder,  "  imparted  the  rudiments  of  a 
good  classical  education,  and  besides  planted  in  their  hearts 
the  stern  sense  of  individual  responsibility,  love  of  truth,  and 
high  principles  which  marked  their  whole  intercourse  with 
the  world."  Following  the  years  of  early  preparation,  young 
Robert  assisted  his  father  in  business;  it  is  said  of  him, 
however,  that  cherishing  a  love  for  the  physical  sciences — 
particularly  chemistry — he  entered  "  the  Chemical  School 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania."  There  was  then  in 
existence  no  distinctly  independent  School  of  Chemistry  in 
the  University,  and  probably  what  Hare  did  was  to  choose 
the  lectures  on  chemistry,  which,  at  the  close  of  the  18th  Cen- 
tury and  the  beginning  of  the  19th  Century,  were  delivered 
by  Woodhouse  in  the  "  Anatomical  Museum."  This  museum 
was  a  frame  building  on  South  Fifth  Street,  directly  opposite 
the  State  House  grounds.  These  lectures  of  Woodhouse 
also  attracted  other  students,  whose  purpose  it  was  to  follow 
chemistry  rather  than  medicine.  Woodhouse  ranked  very 
high  among  his  associates,  and  as  he  strongly  emphasized 
laboratory  work,  Hare  would  have  been  drawn  to  him.  It  is 
also  quite  possible  that  the  laboratory  manual  of  Woodhouse, 
and  his  editions  of  more  dignified  foreign  works,  constituted 
the  literature  upon  which  Hare  throve,  for  he  was  a  genuine 
enthusiast  and  tireless  in  his  search  for  knowledge. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  Chemical  Society  of  Phila- 
delphia.   In  it  were  assembled  those  who  desired  to  prosecute 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  5 

chemistry — in  short,  all  persons  who  meant  to  become  special- 
ists. The  knowledge  2  possessed  of  the  aims,  purposes  and 
accomplishments  of  this  organization  but  increases  one's 
desire  for  further  information  concerning  it. 

Evidently  it  supplied  a  want  felt  by  Hare,  for  he  was 
a  junior  member  of  the  Society,  and  at  various  times 
appeared  as  a  Committeeman  or  subordinate  officer. 

While  prosecuting  his  studies  with  Woodhouse,  Robert 
Hare  engaged  in  very  independent  research,  which  culmi- 
nated in  the  presentation,  in  an  annual  address  to  the  Chemical 
Society  of  Philadelphia,  in  1801,  of  an  exhaustive  and  illus- 
trated account  of  the  oxyhydrogen  blowpipe,  a  discovery  of 
the  highest  importance.  This  discovery  gave  the  indubitable 
evidence  of  a  highly  philosophical  mind  in  its  author,  for  then 
the  notions  of  the  real  nature  of  combustion  were  extremely 
vague  and  that  Hare  should  have  had  the  acumen  to  conceive 
that  a  stream  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen  burning  together 
would  produce  so  intense  a  heat  was  extraordinary. 

It  was  a  splendid  triumph  for  him.  And  when  it  is  real- 
ized that  from  this  discovery  sprang,  among  others,  the  lime 
light  or  Drummond  light,  universal  gratitude  is  due  this 
youthful  adventurer  into  the  field  of  pure  and  applied  science. 
The  intense  heat  of  the  oxyhydrogen  blowpipe  enabled  Hare 
to  fuse  platinum,  so  that  some  years  after  the  discovery  had 
attained  a  higher  degree  of  perfection,  a  student  of  Hare, 
familiar  with  the  compound  blowpipe,  set  forth  to  found  in 
this  country  an  industry  in  the  working  of  platinum.  Indeed, 
Bishop's  Platinum  Works  of  to-day  is  the  modern  develop- 
ment of  Joachim  Bishop's  pioneer  effort.  From  the  begin- 
ning its  several  steps  were  crowned  with  remarkable  success. 

The  exact  title  of  Hare's  communication,  presented  in 
1801    to   the    Chemical    Society   of    Philadelphia,    was    a 
"  Memoir  of  the  Supply  and  Application  of  the  Blow-Pipe. 
2  "  Chemistry  in  America,"  Appleton  &  Co. 


6  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

Containing  an  Account  of  the  new  method  of  supplying  the 
Blow-pipe  either  with  common  air  or  oxygen  gas;  and  also 
of  the  effects  of  the  intense  heat  produced  by  the  combustion 
of  the  hydrogen  and  oxygen  gases." 

Chemists  of  Europe  have  adopted  the  plan  of  reprinting 
memorable  contributions  of  science  in  a  series  such  as  the 
"  Klassiker  der  Exakten  Wissenschaften."  Should  simi- 
lar recognition  be  made  in  America  of  the  achievements 
of  her  scientists,  then  surely  the  above  Memoir  ought  to  find 
place  therein,  for,  without  question,  it  is  a  genuine  classic. 
Now  and  then  copies  of  this  publication  appeared  in  second- 
hand book-stores,  although  recently  there  has  been  printed 
an  exact  copy  of  this  text  with  complete  illustrations.3  It  is, 
therefore,  quite  unnecessary  to  reproduce  the  same  here.  Let 
it  suffice  to  note  that  with  the  flame  from  the  oxygen  and 
hydrogen  gases  Hare  succeeded  in  fusing  heavy  spar,  alum- 
ina, silica,  lime  and  magnesia,  while  platinum,  gold  and  silver 
"  were  thrown  into  a  state  of  ebullition,"  and  many  other 
remarkable  behaviors  of  metals  observed. 

In  the  winter  of  1802,  Benjamin  Silliman  arrived  in 
Philadelphia.  He  had  been  recently  chosen  to  the  Chair  of 
Chemistry  and  Natural  Philosophy  in  Yale  College.  It  was 
his  desire,  before  entering  upon  his  duties,  to  hear  the  lectures 
of  James  Woodhouse  in  chemistry,  Benjamin  Smith  Barton 
in  natural  history  and  Caspar  Wistar  in  anatomy.  Friends 
had  recommended  him  to  take  lodgings  in  a  wedge-shaped 
house  at  the  S.  W.  corner  of  Dock  and  Walnut  Streets. 
It  seems  that  this  was  a  favorite  place  with  a  very  select 
class  of  gentlemen ;  and  in  that  company  he  met  Robert  Hare. 
Why  the  latter  should  live  in  a  boarding  house  when  his 
father's  home  was  wide  open  to  him  cannot  be  determined. 
To  chemists,  however,  the  meeting  of  Hare  and  Silliman, 
with  all  that  followed,  is  of  vastly  more  interest.  In  the  annals 

3  "  Chemistry  in  America,"  Appleton  &  Co. 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  7 

of  chemistry  there  have  been  recorded  instances  of  extraordi- 
nary friendships  formed  by  persons  strongly  attracted  to  one 
another  by  common  interests.  Thus,  in  the  friendship  of 
Wohler  and  Liebig  there  is  an  example  of  two  gigantic  minds 
working  in  harmony  in  their  chosen  field.  This  also  must  have 
been  true  of  Gerhardt  and  Laurent ;  so  that  in  the  intellectual 
union  of  Hare  and  Silliman  there  is  an  additional  happy  com- 
bination of  the  better  elements  in  human  nature.  These  three 
instances,  with  doubtless  many  others,  should  inspire  the  for- 
mation of  still  others,  for,  thereby,  good  alone  will  ensue. 

Silliman  was  exceedingly  happy  in  the  company  of  his 
fellow-boarders,  notwithstanding  he  must  at  times  have  been 
surprised  at  their  conduct,  for  he  wrote,  "  I  do  not  remember 
any  water  drinkers  at  our  table  or  in  the  house.  .  .  .  Porter 
and  other  strong  beer  were  used  at  table  as  a  beverage.  As 
Robert  Hare  was  a  brewer  of  porter,  his  was  in  high  request, 
and  indeed,  it  was  of  an  excellent  quality.  .  .  .  There  were 
no  outward  manifestations  of  religion  in  our  boarding  house. 
Grace  was  never  said  at  table,  nor  did  I  ever  hear  a  prayer  in 
the  house" ;  but,  he  continues,  "  rarely  have  I  met  with  a  circle 
of  gentlemen  who  surpassed  them  in  courteous  manners,  in 
brilliant  intelligence,  sparkling  sallies  of  wit  and  pleasantry, 
and  cordial  greeting  both  among  themselves  and  with  friends 
and  strangers  who  were  occasionally  introduced."  And  in  this 
brilliant  group  Robert  Hare  was  a  bright,  particular  star. 

Silliman  did  not  wholly  appreciate  Woodhouse,  for  it 
is  recorded  in  his  diary: 

'*  The  deficiencies  of  Woodhouse's  courses  were,  in  a  con- 
siderable degree,  made  up  in  a  manner  which  I  could  not 
have  anticipated.  Robert  Hare,  my  fellow-boarder  and  com- 
panion at  Mrs.  Smith's,  was  a  genial,  kind-hearted  person, 
one  year  younger  than  myself,  and  already  a  proficient  in 
chemistry  upon  the  scale  of  that  period."  Then  follows  an 
account  of  how  Hare,  on  hearing  the  reason  for  Silliman' s 


8  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

presence  in  Philadelphia,  kindly  extended  his  friendship  and 
assistance.  Together  they  persuaded  Mrs.  Smith,  their  high- 
spirited,  efficient  and  indulgent  hostess,  to  let  them  arrange 
a  small  laboratory  in  a  spare  cellar-kitchen,  in  which  they 
worked  in  their  leisure  hours.  The  latter  were  probably  those 
which  Hare  could  spare  from  his  business  and  Silliman 
from  his  lecture  hours  and  private  study.  Hare's  thoughts 
constantly  gravitated  toward  improvements  in  the  apparatus 
for  the  burning  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen.  It  was  his  hope 
that  the  heat  might  be  made  more  intense.  This  he  expected 
to  effect  by  getting  really  pure  oxygen  from  oxymuriate  of 
potassa  (potassium  chlorate).  As  chemists  then  were  not 
aware  that  the  addition  of  a  little  black  oxide  of  manganese 
to  the  chlorate  considerably  accelerated  the  liberation  of  the 
oxygen  gas,  thereby  permitting  the  use  of  glass  flasks  or 
retorts,  he  considered  it  necessary  to  expose  the  chlorate  in 
stone  retorts  to  furnace-heat  and  Silliman's  diary  adds: 

"  The  retorts  were  purchased  by  me  at  a  dollar  each,  and, 
as  they  were  usually  broken  in  the  experiment,  the  research 
was  rather  costly ;  but  my  friend  furnished  experience,  and, 
as  I  was  daily  acquiring  it,  I  was  rewarded,  both  for  labor 
and  expense,  by  the  brilliant  results  of  our  experiments." 

The  friends  frequently  commented  on  the  danger  which 
surrounded  the  method  of  storing  the  gases.  The  possibility 
of  mixing  was  constantly  before  them.  Explosions  did  occur. 
It  would  seem  that  Silliman  in  particular  was  much  con- 
cerned on  this  point.  Later,  at  his  home  in  New  Haven, 
he  "  contrived  a  mode  of  separating  these  gases  so  effectually 
that  they  could  not  become  mixed." 

It  was  at  this  time— the  winter  of  1802-1803— that  Hare 
exhibited  to  Dr.  Priestley,  Seybert  and  others  his  compound 
blowpipe  and  the  intensity  of  the  oxyhydrogen  flame. 
Priestley  "  gave  them  the  credit  of  being  quite  original." 
What  were  the  thoughts  of  the  noble  old  dissenter  on  this 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  9 

occasion?  What  joy  must  have  come  to  young  Hare  in  pre- 
senting his  discoveries  to  the  noted  chemist  of  England  and 
to  the  real  leaders  of  chemical  thought  in  this  western  world! 
It  was  a  rare  privilege  to  disclose  to  the  discoverer  of  oxygen 
a  use  for  it  which  probably  never  entered  the  discoverer's 
thoughts.  Hare's  invention,  if  such  it  might  be  called,  was 
the  talk  of  at  least  those  scientificaDy  inclined  among  the 
residents  of  Philadelphia.  It  must  have  afforded  the  staid 
members  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society  particular 
pleasure  to  listen  to  the  young  scientist  (1803)  telling  how 
in  the  presence  of  Woodhouse  and  Seybert  he  had  "  com- 
pletely dissipated  globules  of  platinum  about  one-tenth  of 
an  inch  in  diameter,"  and,  with  his  friend  Silliman,  had  fused 
strontianite  from  Argyleshire,  Scotland;  whereupon  they 
then  quietly  proceeded  to  honor  him  with  election  to  their 
distinguished  company.  This  occurred  on  January  21, 1803, 
when  Hare  had  just  reached  his  twenty-second  birthday, 
and  is  recorded  in  these  words : 

"  Election  of  two  new  members : 
Robert  Hare,  Jr.,  of  Philadelphia; 
Ben.  Count  of  Rumford,  of  Great  Britain." 

To  be  chosen  simultaneously  with  Count  Rumford  was  ad- 
ditional evidence  of  the  honor  in  which  he  was  held.  It  must 
also  be  remembered  that  in  1839  the  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences  conferred  on  Robert  Hare,  in  recognition  of  his  great 
invention,  The  Rumford  Medal,  granted  for  the  first  time. 

One  month  after  his  election  to  the  venerable  American 
Philosophical  Society,  he  was  added  to  the 

"  Committee  on  Minerals : 

Woodhouse,  Church,  Jacobs,  Barton,  Cooke, 

Hewson,  Hare, 
to  examine  future  donations." 

That  he  received  this  appointment  with  serious  apprecia- 
tion of  his  duties  seems  evident  from  the  following  letter  to 
an  early  friend  of  congenial  tastes,  residing  in  Baltimore: 


10  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

"Philadelphia,  1804 
"  Dr  Sir 

Many  months  have  elapsed  since  I  have  had  the  pleasure 
of  addressing  you  in  the  epistolary  style.  My  silence,  how- 
ever, has  not  arisen  from  the  want  of  disposition  to  communi- 
cate with  you,  for  this  is  always  agreeable  to  me,  as  you  are 
among  the  few  in  whom  I  find  a  congeniality  of  feeling  on 
subjects  which  to  me  are  very  interesting.  The  fear  of  prov- 
ing myself  a  dull  correspondent  has  prevented  me  from 
writing  on  indifferent  topics  and  none  others  have  offered 
themselves.  Nor  indeed  can  that  upon  which  I  now  resume 
my  pen  be  interesting  to  you  in  any  other  light  than  as 
relative  to  the  extension  of  a  favorite  branch  of  science. 
Mr.  Thos.  P.  Smith,  a  young  gentleman  of  our  city,  of  an 
ardent  and  inquisitive  mind  and  not  unenlightened  by  the 
rays  of  science  or  of  genius,  having  in  a  tour  through  Europe 
made  a  considerable  collection  of  minerals,  had  the  misfor- 
tune to  lose  his  life  when  he  had  just  arrived  in  sight  of  that 
native  country  for  the  ornament  and  improvement  of  which 
his  researches  had  highly  qualified  him. 

But  though  death  extinguished  all  hope  of  benefit  from 
future  exertion  of  his  talents,  and  industry  the  fruits  which 
had  already  resulted  from  them  bequeathed  to  a  publick  asso- 
ciation insured  advantage  from  the  past.  The  bequest  of 
his  minerals  to  the  American  Philosophical  Society  may 
certainly  be  considered  as  promising  publick  benefit.  It  may 
serve  as  a  nucleus  on  which  a  respectable  cabinet  may  be 
formed.  Few  are  so  well  aware  as  you  of  the  importance 
of  such  an  establishment.  To  you  it  is  well  known  how  little 
the  department  of  mineralogical  science  has  been  explored  or 
understood  by  our  countrymen.  The  fact  America  boasts 
not  of  a  single  school  for  this  science! 

The  minerals  of  Mr.  Smith  have  lately  been  received  by 
the  Society  and  the  names  of  Drs.  Woodhouse,  Barton,  Sey- 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  11 

bert  and  Coxe  have  been  enrolled  as  a  committee  for  the 
arrangement  of  them.  Of  this  committee  I  also  am  a  mem- 
ber, although  as  a  practical  mineralogist  I  can  lay  little  claim 
to  this  appointment,  yet  I  am  willing  to  earn  a  little  thereto 
by  the  bestowal  of  time  and  pains  and  I  am  ready  to  acquire 
information  from  any  source  whence  it  may  be  obtained.  I 
presume  that  there  must  be  various  methods  of  exhibiting 
minerals  in  the  various  cabinets  of  Europe.  That  proper  for 
a  Society  must  differ  from  that  suiting  an  individual  as  in  the 
former  case  they  should  be  seen  without  personal  attendance 
and  therefore  should  be  constantly  exposed  to  view  and  yet  be 
defended  from  peculation.  Our  Committee  have  resolved  to 
procure  pictures  of  cases  and  thus  to  have  the  better  oppor- 
tunity of  meeting  with  one  which  may  suit  their  purpose.  As  I 
believe  you  to  possess  both  taste  and  experience  I  will  take  it 
as  a  favour  if  you  will  sketch  out  any  plans  that  you  may  have 
seen  or  that  may  suggest  themselves  to  you  and  send  them 
to  me.  The  room  they  are  to  occupy  faces  the  north  and  east. 
We  have  as  yet  had  no  election  nor  shall  we  until  October. 
Be  so  good  as  to  present  my  respects  and  good  wishes  to 
your  father's  family  and  believe  me 

With  regard, 
Robert  Gilmore  Esqr,  Junr  Sincerely  yours, 

Baltimore.  R.  HARE,  Junr." 

During  the  year  Hare  made  two  verbal  communications 
to  the  Society  on  subjects  related  to  his  oxyhydrogen  blow- 
pipe. These  were  regarded  worthy  of  publication,  and  it  is 
therefore  not  surprising  to  learn  that  at  the  annual  election 
(1804)  of  the  Society,  Hare  was  chosen  a  curator  and  con- 
tinued in  this  office  for  ten  successive  years.  Sometime  later 
he  filled  the  honorable  position  of  councillor,  although  his 
attendance  upon  meetings  at  this  time  was  scarcely  what  one 
might  expect  from  so  enthusiastic  a  scientist.  Yet  this  may 


12  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

have  been  in  part  due  to  the  attention  he  was  obliged  to 
bestow  upon  business. 

In  the  winter  of  1803-1804  Silliman  returned  to  Phila- 
delphia. He  writes,  "  I  attended,  as  before,  the  course  of 
chemistry  and  anatomy  and  resumed  my  private  labours  with 
Robert  Hare."  On  leaving  Philadelphia  finally,  in  1804, 
Silliman  began  the  installation  of  his  laboratory  at  Yale. 
He  worked  in  most  humble  surroundings,  but  apparently 
never  for  the  briefest  period  lost  sight  of  the  great  possibilities 
of  the  oxyhydrogen  blowpipe,  and  succeeded  in  achieving 
many  things  which  were  but  imperfectly  touched  upon  while 
with  Hare.  There  are  evidences  that  these  friends  com- 
municated at  intervals,  though  little  of  the  actual  corre- 
spondence is  now  to  be  found.  Hare  working  quietly  in 
Philadelphia — now  in  the  basement  laboratory  at  Dock  and 
Walnut  Streets,  now  in  the  laboratory  of  the  Chemical  Soci- 
ety, or  in  the  brewery  of  his  father — improved  upon  his  origi- 
nal device,  and  with  each  improvement  obtained  results  which 
from  time  to  time  found  a  way  to  the  public  and  impressed 
them  with  the  marvellous  skill  and  insight  of  the  young  chem- 
ist. Silliman,  appreciating  Hare's  achievements,  was  prob- 
ably responsible  for  the  high  honor  accorded  his  friend  by  Yale 
College,  when  it  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine,  in  1806.  This  was  Hare's  first  academic  recognition. 

Reverting  again  to  the  blowpipe,  be  it  remembered  that 
every  chemist  is  quite  familiar  with  the  ordinary  blowpipe 
and  its  numerous  uses,  and,  further,  knows  the  difficulties 
attendant  upon  all  efforts  to  preserve  it  in  continuous  action. 
All  these — uses  and  disadvantages — were  quite  familiar  to 
Hare.  He  knew  that  the  attachment  of  a  bellows  would 
obviate  some  of  the  inconveniences,  but  he  sought  to  do  more. 
He  aimed  to  have  a  steady  gas  current  pass  through  the  blow- 
pipe, first  a  current  of  air,  later  one  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen 
under  constant,  steady  pressure — actually  burning  these 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  13 

gases  at  a  common  exit  tube,  thus  obtaining  the  intensest  heat 
yet  attained.  It  is  no  wonder  that  chemists  were  deeply 
impressed  with  the  results.  In  our  own  day  the  remarkable 
reactions  induced  by  the  electric  arc  astonished  the  chemical 
world,  and  the  enthusiasm  and  thoughts  thus  developed  are 
nothing  more  than  a  return  of  the  feelings  of  our  forefathers 
in  the  domain  of  chemical  research. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  originally  the  oxy- 
hydrogen  flame  was  not  Hare's  objective.  Xo,  his  desire  was 
to  improve  the  ordinary  blowpipe.  Having  accomplished 
this  by  his  new  hydrostatic  arrangement,  there  followed  the 
introduction  of  oxygen  into  the  blowpipe  with  the  observance 
of  an  increased  intensity  of  the  flame.  The  crowning  effort 
was  the  extension  of  his  hydrostatic  device  to  accommodate 
in  separate  apartments  the  gases  oxygen  and  hydrogen, 
expelling  them  under  pressure,  uniting  them  and  igniting 
them  at  a  common  orifice,  when  there  was  observed  the  intense 
heat  of  the  flame,  which  was  quickly  followed  by  its  appli- 
cation to  the  performance  of  the  unusual  things  to  which  ref- 
erence has  already  been  made.  Hare's  achievement,  then, 
was  in  part  a  mechanical  invention,  and  in  part  the  discovery 
of  an  unexpected  source  of  the  intensest  heat.  It  was  unique 
in  many  respects  and  brought  results  of  far-reaching  import. 
The  scientific  world  took  early  cognizance  of  the  same.  The 
author  of  these  humane  benefits  continued  industriously  at 
work  on  improvements  in  the  apparatus  and  the  extension 
of  the  use  of  the  flame.  His  friend  Silliman  and  others  fol- 
lowed his  example,  but  Hare  always  led,  "  succeeding  in  later 
years  in  constructing  the  apparatus  on  a  gigantic  scale,  with 
large  vessels  of  wrought  iron  capable  of  sustaining  the  pres- 
sure of  the  Fairmount  Water  Works,  and  that  with  this 
wonderful  combination  he  was  able  to  fuse  at  one  operation 
nearly  two  pounds  of  platinum." 

This  remarkable,  epoch-making  work  of  Robert  Hare, 


14  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

however,  was  not  suffered  to  pass  without  counter  claims  as 
to  like  discoveries.  Clarke,  of  Cambridge,  England,  wrote 
a  book,  about  1819,  upon  the  "  gas  blowpipe."  In  it  he 
ignored  absolutely  the  discovery  of  Hare,  the  researches  of 
Silliman  and  others,  and  actually  appropriated  all  that  they 
had  brought  to  light.  It  was  not  in  the  nature  of  Hare  to  be 
silent  under  such  provocation,  so  he  made  an  elaborate  de- 
fence of  his  claims  and  those  of  Silliman.  This  may  be  read 
in  the  American  Journal  of  Science  for  the  year  1820.  The 
protest  was  full  and  spirited.  Clarke  received  it  but  re- 
mained silent.  Hare  began  his  objections  to  Clarke's  pub- 
lication with  these  words : 

"  Hoc  ego  versiculos  fed,  tulit  alter  honores,  etc." 

His  indignation  must  have  been  great.  Silliman  stoutly 
maintained  throughout  the  controversy  that  Hare  was  "  the 
real  inventor  of  the  compound  or  oxy-hydrogen  blowpipe." 

Still  another  claimant  of  this  discovery  was  a  certain 
Mr.  Maugham  of  the  Adelaide  Gallery  in  London,  who 
asserted  that  he  had  contrived  a  blowpipe  by  which  he  had 
fused  twenty-five  ounces  of  platinum  and  that  Hare  had 
purchased  one  of  his  make  when  on  a  visit  to  London.  Hare 
conclusively  proved  the  worthlessness  of  Maugham's  claim, 
and  spurred  on  by  friends,  who  foresaw  even  greater  results 
from  the  invention,  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  patent  his 
discovery.  This,  however,  did  not  occur  until  1845. 

Hare  labored,  as  time  permitted,  in  perfecting  his  dis- 
covery, and  gained  by  means  of  his  investigations  a  wide 
knowledge  of  chemical  bodies.  Queer  suggestions  were  made, 
from  time  to  time,  as  to  the  application  of  the  oxyhydrogen 
flame.  Thus,  a  Thomas  Skidmore,  Esq.,  of  New  York 
(1822)  professed  to  have  "discovered,  within  three  or  four 
months  back,  that  if  the  flame  produced  by  the  combustion 
of  hydrogen  gas,  issuing  in  combination  with  oxygen  from 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  15 

the  compound  blowpipe  of  Hare,  be  plunged  below  the  sur- 
face of  a  vessel  of  water,  it  continued,  notwithstanding  its 
submersion,  and  actual  contact  with,  this  element,  to  burn, 
apparently  with  the  same  splendour  as  it  does  in  the  common 
atmosphere."  After  detailing  a  number  of  little  experi- 
ments "  which  have  lately  amused  me  and  my  friends,"  he 
adds,  "  I  am  not  much  disposed  to  indulge  in  speculation  on 
the  applications,  which,  in  the  course  of  the  progress  of 
science,  may  be  made  of  these  facts;  yet  I  cannot  refrain 
from  observing  that  the  possibility  of  effecting  the  com- 
bustion of  most  substances,  with  an  agent  so  energetic  as  the 
heat  evolved  by  the  gases  in  question,  seems  to  point  dis- 
tinctly, among  other  things,  to  their  employment  as  a  subma- 
rine instrument  of  naval  warfare.  From  the  experiments  I 
have  made  (and  these  too,  with  means  having  no  reference 
whatever,  to  the  accomplishments  of  such  a  purpose),  I  am 
fully  satisfied  that  success  may  be  commanded  "... 

'  The  employment  of  Hare's  jet  to  illuminate  light-houses 
and  signal  reflectors  under  the  names  of  Drummond  light  and 
Calcium  light  is  only  another  example  of  the  mode  of  ignoring 
the  name  of  the  real  discoverer,  of  which  the  history  of 
science  presents  so  many  parallels." 

The  departure  of  Silliman  from  Philadelphia  was  felt  by 
Hare.  It  could  scarcely  have  been  otherwise,  for  in  the  words 
of  the  former — "  I  was  often  surprised,  as  well  as  gratified, 
to  find  in  Mr.  Hare  an  extent  of  comprehension  as  well  as 
minuteness  of  conception  and  information  which  made  his 
society  a  constant  scene  of  entertainment  and  instruction 
to  me ;  and  in  fact,  our  conversations  became  so  frequent  and 
long  on  chemical  subjects,  that  our  companions  in  the  house 
often  rallied  us  on  our  devotion  to  this  pursuit." 

But,  before  Hare  were  ever  his  imperative  business  duties, 
and  they  must  have  sadly  interrupted  his  experimental  work. 
He  must  have  yearned  for  time  in  which  to  devote  himself 


16  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

to  the  subjects  nearest  to  his  heart  and  which  occupied  the 
greater  part  of  his  thoughts.  In  addition  to  his  business 
affairs  and  his  scientific  researches,  he  indulged  in  the  writing 
of  letters  to  the  public  through  the  medium  of  the  daily  press 
on  burning  topics  of  the  day.  In  all  this  work  Hare  showed 
himself  to  be  a  true  patriot,  and  a  many-sided  person  with  a 
broad  vision.  However,  before  these  letters  receive  consid- 
eration, it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  record  the  attempt  of 
personal  friends  and  men  of  science  made  to  place  him  in  a 
position  where  his  best  efforts  could  be  given  to  his  favorite 
studies.  Woodhouse,  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania,  died  in  1809.  At  once  the  Trustees 
of  the  Institution  were  recipients  of  letters  advocating  the 
appointment  of  Hare. 

"Dear  Sir: 

During  the  first  years  of  the  establishment  of  the  Medical 
School  of  Philadelphia  it  was  required  that  every  student  who 
had  not  graduated  in  some  College  should  be  obliged  to  attend 
the  course  of  lectures  upon  Natural  Philosophy,  previously 
to  his  being  admitted  to  an  examination  for  a  medical  degree 
in  our  University.  This  rule  was  imperfectly  complied  with 
during  the  greatest  part  of  Dr.  Swing's  Provostship,  but  has 
been  neglected  for  several  years  to  the  great  injury  of  our 
Medical  School  and  of  Medical  Science  in  our  country. 

Permit  me  to  suggest  to  you  the  necessity  of  appointing  a 
Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  for  the  express  purpose  of 
teaching  that  important  branch  of  science  to  students  of  medi- 
cine in  the  extensive  way  in  which  it  is  taught  in  European 
universities.  Such  a  course  of  lectures  will  not  interfere  with 
the  instruction  in  Natural  Philosophy  given  to  candidates  for 
degrees  in  the  Arts  by  the  Provost  of  the  University.  They 
will  be  addressed  to  persons  of  a  more  advanced  age,  and  will 
embrace  many  objects  especially  necessary  and  useful  to  stu- 
dents of  medicine.  Should  such  a  professorship  be  instituted, 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  17 

there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  filling  it.  Mr.  Robert  Hare's  ex- 
tensive knowledge  in  Natural  Philosophy,  and  all  its  col- 
lateral subjects,  points  him  out  as  a  most  suitable  person  for 
that  purpose.  His  splendid  talents  and  ardor  in  scientific  pur- 
suits, I  have  no  doubt,  would  add  greatly  to  the  reputation  of 
our  Medical  School,  and  to  the  honor  of  our  City,  and  State. 
Should  you  think  proper  to  propose  the  professorship  I 
have  mentioned,  suppose  you  add  to  it  at  the  same  time — 
a  professorship  of  rural  economy? 

Novem.  25  From  Dr  Sir 

1809  Yours  very  respectfully 

George  Clymer,  Esq. ;  BENJ.  RUSH." 

Mr.  Clymer  was  a  Trustee  of  the  University  and  Dr. 
Rush  had  been  a  professor  in  the  Medical  School  from  its 
inception.  Both  of  these  gentlemen  had  affixed  their  names  to 
that  immortal  document — the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

And  Dr.  John  Syng  Dorsey  wrote  on  June  12,  1809: 

"  In  the  year  1798,  I  commenced  the  study  of  medicine 
in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  attended  a  course  of 
Lectures  on  Chymistry  delivered  by  Dr.  Woodhouse,  in 
whose  laboratory  I  frequently  met  Mr.  Robert  Hare,  jun., 
who  was  at  that  time  engaged  in  the  study  of  Chymistry. 
Mr.  Hare  was  zealous  in  the  pursuit;  and  in  the  Chymical 
Society  of  which  we  were  both  members,  he  always  took  an 
active  and  conspicuous  part.  Engaged  in  similar  studies,  I 
passed  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  my  time  in  company  with 
Mr.  Hare,  and  for  several  years  was  the  frequent  witness 
of  his  experimental  researches,  which  have  led  to  results,  in 
my  opinion,  highly  important,  and  I  know  of  no  chymical 
discovery  which  has  been  made  in  America,  more  brilliant 
than  one  of  which  Mr.  Hare  is  the  author. 

I  have  therefore,  from  what  I  know  of  Mr.  Robert  Hare, 
jun.,  every  reason  to  believe  him  perfectly  qualified  to  teach 
the  science  of  Chymistry.  His  mind  I  believe  to  be  pecul- 


18  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

iarly  adapted  to  this  pursuit,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  he 
will  discharge  the  duties  of  it  with  advantage  to  his  pupils, 
with  reputation  to  himself,  and  with  honour  to  any  institution 
with  which  he  may  be  connected." 

While  in  an  epistle  to  E.  Bronson,  Esquire,  June  15, 
1809,  Benjamin  Silliman,  of  Yale  College,  said: 

"  I  consider  the  gentleman  who  is  the  subject  of  this 
letter  as  one  of  the  fairest  hopes  of  the  science  of  this  country ; 
especially  should  he,  before  the  ardour  of  his  mind  has 
abated,  be  able  to  devote  any  considerable  portion  of  his  time 
and  exertions  to  the  cultivation  of  science." 

Again:  "  From  the  knowledge  we  have  of  Mr.  Robert 
Hare's  Chymical  abilities,  we  have  no  hesitation  in  declaring, 
that  we  believe  him  qualified  to  supply  the  vacancy  occasioned 
by  the  death  of  the  late  Professor  of  Chymistry  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania.  ROBERT  PATTERSON 
Philadelphia  June  15,  1809.  JOSEPH  CLOUD." 

And  Dr.  Chapman  wrote  to  Joseph  Hopkinson,  Esq.,  author 
of  "  Hail  Columbia,"  as  follows: 
"Dear  Sir: 

.  .  .  I  am  detailing  with  unnecessary  minuteness  the 
merits  of  Mr.  Hare.  They  have  already  been  acknowledged 
on  all  hands.  Those  who  know  him  best  and  are  competent  to 
decide,  have  borne  evidence  to  the  extent  of  his  acquisitions  in 
the  philosophy  of  the  science,  to  the  dexterity  of  his  manipula- 
tions, and  the  peculiar  aptitude  of  his  mind  to  the  cultivation 
of  those  pursuits.  The  late  Dr.  Woodhouse,  it  is  known  to 
many,  entertained  the  highest  respect  for  his  attainments,  and 
often  regretted,  that  a  genius  so  well  adapted  to  Chymistry 
could  not  be  applied  altogether  to  its  improvement. 

With  respect  to  the  incapacity  of  Mr.  Hare,  arising  out 
of  his  want  of  a  medical  education,  to  which  you  allude,  I 
must  say  that  it  strikes  me  with  no  force  and  that  it  can 
hardly  be  pressed,  I  presume,  by  his  opponents.  .  .  ." 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  19 

While  a  testimonial  from  Dr.  William  P.  Dewees  reads: 
"  Having  perused  a  letter  from  Thomas  Fitzsimmons, 
Esq.,  in  which  it  is  stated  that  it  would  be  agreeable  to  the 
Trustees  of  the  University,  to  receive  information  in  regard 
to  the  chymical  abilities  and  acquirements  of  the  Candidates 
for  the  Professorship  of  Chymistry,  I  should  deem  myself 
wanting  in  justice,  were  I,  when  called  upon  by  any  of  the 
Candidates  to  suppress  the  information  which  circumstances 
may  have  afforded  me.  On  this  ground  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
communicate  that  knowledge  of  Mr.  Robert  Hare,  jun., 
which  I  have  derived  from  an  intercourse  of  several  years. 
In  1799,  I  first  became  acquainted  with  this  gentleman,  and 
in  the  following  year  found  him  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of 
Chymistry,  both  by  study  and  experiment.  Since  which  time 
I  have  been  a  frequent  visitor  at  his  laboratory,  and  have 
been  witness  of  his  researches,  of  which  he  has  always  given 
the  most  satisfactory  explanation.  I  have  frequently  pro- 
posed to  him  questions  that  to  me  seemed  obscure,  and  have 
always  obtained  sufficient  elucidation.  Chymistry  has  been, 
in  fact,  the  most  frequent  topick  of  our  conversations. 

On  grounds  such  as  these  I  have  not  hesitated  to  adopt 
the  opinion,  that  this  gentleman's  mind  is  peculiarly  fitted 
for  the  investigation  of  Chymical  science ;  and  I  consider  him 
well  acquainted  with  it  in  its  various  relations,  to  the  arts 
and  to  medicine.  Its  connexion  with  the  latter  has  been  the 
most  frequent  subject  of  our  disquisitions." 

There  was  opposition  to  Hare,  based  entirely,  however, 
on  the  fact  that  he  had  not  been  educated  in  medicine.  The 
University  was  not  prepared  to  take  the  responsibility  of 
introducing  a  non-medical  man  as  teacher  into  its  faculty,  so 
the  choice  of  successor  to  Woodhouse  fell  upon  John  Redman 
Coxe,  who  had  proposed  a  plan  for  electric  telegraphy, 
"  which  long  ante-dates  any  other  American  suggestion  on 
this  subject  since  the  days  of  Franklin." 


20  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

It  is  very  plainly  indicated  in  the  preceding  letters  that 
Hare's  friends  and  admirers  thought  he  should,  by  all  means, 
be  relieved  from  the  strain  of  business  cares;  his  talents  for 
experimental  science  were  so  marked  that  every  opportunity 
should  be  afforded  him  to  devote  himself  to  those  things 
which  appealed  most  strongly  to  him.  His  entrance,  how- 
ever, into  a  free  untrammeled  scientific  career  was  not  yet — 
but  its  day  was  approaching.  Filial  duty  no  doubt  figured 
largely  in  his  life  work.  And,  from  the  subjoined  bill  he  had 
become  in  truth  a  partner  with  his  father,  hence  burdens  were 
enhanced. 

Doctr  Rush 

Bought  of  R.  Hare  &  Son 

1809             Jan.  y2  bbl.  Table  Beer  $1.50 

Jan.  "      "  "  "  1.50 

Jan.  "      "  "  "  1.50 

Feb.  "      "  "  "  1.50 

Feb.  "      "  "  "  1.50 

For  R.  Hare  &  Son, 

Received  Payment, 
W.  Smith. 

And  it  was  doubtless  at  this  time,  while  occupied  in  brew- 
ing and,  of  course,  attending  the  stated  meetings  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  that  he  addressed  a  letter  to 
the  Society  on  the  tapping  of  air-tight  casks  by  means  "  of  a 
vent-peg  and  cock.  The  vent-peg  is  seldom  firmly  replaced 
and  the  consequence  is  the  frequent  souring  or  vapidity  of 
vinous  liquors.  The  quantity  of  liquor  annually  spoiled  by 
the  omission  of  the  vent-pegs  must  be  immense ;  and  must  be 
particularly  great  in  those  families  where  the  tapsters  are  too 
numerous  to  be  responsible  for  neglect,"  so  he  contrived  a 
cock  with  two  perforations  "  to  obviate  the  necessity  of  a  vent- 
peg."  He  submitted  the  communication  "  as  an  addition, 
though  a  small  one,  to  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  society 
at  large — in  any  other  light  it  can  have  no  pretentions." 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  21 

There  were  other  activities  in  which  he  engaged  to  which 
it  is  now  proper  to  give  heed.  Reference  has  been  made  to  his 
occasional  appearance  in  the  columns  of  Philadelphia  papers 
on  subjects  occupying  men's  thoughts  in  the  first  and  second 
decades  of  the  19th  Century,  so  that  it  seems  opportune  to 
pass  in  review  some  of  the  ideas  set  forth  by  Hare  in  a  publi- 
cation which  appeared  in  1810,  bearing  the  title,  "A  Brief 
View  of  the  Policy  and  Resources  of  the  United  States." 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  at  this  time  our  infant 
Republic  was  drifting  into  alarming  situations.  The  fol- 
lowing abstracts  are  made  from  the  text  of  the  little  volume: 

"It  is  a  universal  observation  of  those,  whose  interests 
have  been  placed  in  opposition  to  companies,  or  large  bodies 
of  men,  that  these  are  very  little  actuated  by  generous 
passions.  .  .  .  Philanthropy  is  much  more  often  assumed 
as  an  ornament,  than  excited  by  feeling.  Religion  and 
morality  may  lead  us  to  deprecate  the  horrours  which  arise 
from  national  strife,  but  the  recital  of  them,  when  we  are  not 
the  immediate  sufferers,  rarely  interferes  with  our  slumbers — 
or  interrupts  the  festivity  of  a  meal.  .  .  . 

The  greatest  national  right — the  right  of  conquest — is 
the  greatest  moral  wrong.  Yet  is  this  the  boasted  founda- 
tion of  national  sovereignty  throughout  the  globe.  .  .  . 
History  does  not  furnish  an  instance  of  a  nation,  which  has 
hesitated  to  seize  an  advantage — when  encouraged  by  power 
— and  invited  by  weakness — however  destructive  the  conse- 
quences to  the  happiness  of  an  injured  nation — or  incon- 
sistent with  the  principles  of  justice  or  humanity." 

"  It  is  true  that  commerce  and  despotism  can  but  ill  sub- 
sist together; — but  it  is  in  the  same  way  as  the  entertainment 
of  the  hedge-hog  was  incompatible  with  the  comfort  of  the 
snakes. 

The  injury — the  fear — and  dislike,  are  not  felt  on  the 


22  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

side  of  the  despot,  but  on  that  of  commerce.  Despotism  has 
often  destroyed  commerce,  because  attended  by  an  arbitrary 
and  versatile  policy,  altogether  inconsistent  with  those  in- 
dustrious pursuits  which  require  permanency  of  duration,  for 
the  repayment  of  capital  invested.  But  commerce  never  has 
— nor  ever  can  subvert  despotism;  because,  under  circum- 
stances so  hostile  to  its  prosperity — it  can  never  make  progress 
sufficient,  to  weigh  against  sovereign  power." 

"  Commerce  was  undoubtedly  instrumental  in  the  over- 
throw of  the  feudal  system,  but  in  this  it  rather  aided — than 
opposed  monarchial  power.  Seeking  privileges  and  protec- 
tion from  the  sovereign  against  the  oppression  of  the  nobles, 
the  commercial  towns  in  return,  afforded  him  the  means  of 
preponderance  over  those  turbulent  vassals;  but  this  was 
an  operation,  very  different  from  that  which  would  justify 
the  idea  of  its  competency — to  subvert  despotick  power." 

"A  magnanimous  American  would  scorn  to  be  dependent 
for  the  liberties  of  his  country,  on  the  duration  of  the  balance 
of  foreign  power;  but  re- viewing  our  present  means  of  re- 
sistance, compared  with  the  force  which  we  should  be  necessi- 
tated to  oppose,  there  is  no  room  for  this  noble  independency 
of  sentiment  and  he  is  forced,  by  the  prospect  of  irresistible 
evil,  to  tolerate  a  predicament  so  monstrous,  as  that  of  being 
indebted  for  safety  to  those — who  are  permanent  rivals  in 
commerce — and  consequently  our  enemies  upon  the  prin- 
ciples of  national  conduct  already  laid  down. 

Could  Great  Britain  and  America  be  divested  of  those 
partial  views  of  right,  or  interest,  which  are  almost  inseparable 
from  human  nature; — their  mutual  welfare — and  even 
grandeur  would  be  far  from  incompatible.  The  ocean  and  the 
land  are  not  so  confined  in  extent,  as  not  to  afford  ample  room 
for  the  greatest  luxuriance  in  the  prosperity  of  both  countries. 
But  by  past  experience  we  are  taught,  that  it  is  in  vain  to  hope 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  23 

that  two  nations  travelling  on  the  same  road  to  wealth,  will 
ever  proceed  harmoniously;  or  find  any  other  means  of  deter- 
mining their  respective  claims,  than  that  of  power. 

In  respect  to  Great  Britain  however,  it  must  be  admitted, 
that  although  from  justice  or  humanity  she  rarely  abandons 
the  course  dictated  by  interest;  yet  in  pursuing  it,  owing  to 
the  excellent  form  of  her  government  and  spirit  of  her  laws, 
she  has  generally  displayed  more  liberality  than  other  nations. 
In  the  abstract,  her  policy  may  often  be  found  too  narrow, 
as  it  was  in  her  treatment  of  this  country  while  under  her 
sway ;  but  her  conduct  even  in  this  respect  was  liberal,  when 
compared  with  the  colonial  policy  of  France,  Spain,  Portugal, 
or  Holland. 

Had  her  system  at  an  early  period  been  as  contracted 
as  that  pursued  by  those  nations,  we  should  never  have  had— 
the  spirit — the  liberty — the  wealth — or  the  power — to  which 
we  owe  our  glorious  independence.  It  was  only  through  this 
superiour  liberality  or  wisdom  in  construing  her  interest,  that 
she  ever  permitted  the  extension  of  our  commerce;  for  had 
she  yielded  to  that  jealousy  and  cupidity  which  it  was  so 
much  calculated  to  excite — she  would,  at  an  early  period, 
have  depressed — or  destroyed  it." 

"  Never  was  a  comparison  more  fairly  made  in  practice 
between  opposite  political  systems,  than  we  have  seen  in  the 
trial  of  the  policy  of  Washington,  and  that  of  Jefferson  and 
his  successor.  The  great  founder  of  American  independence 
saw  the  impossibility  of  a  successful  struggle  for  those  com- 
mercial privileges — which  America  might  in  theory  claim — 
but  in  practice  could  not  establish — till  time  should  afford 
her  maritime  strength.  He  saw  the  necessity  of  our  rising 
under  the  wings  of  that  very  power — whose  jealousy  by  our 
rivalship — we  were  destined  sooner  or  later  to  excite.  He 
saw  that  as  yet  in  our  political  infancy — to  contend  for  all 
our  commercial  rights — would  cause  the  loss  of  every  com- 


34  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

mercial  advantage  and  that  early  demonstrations  of  hostility, 
by  alarming  the  fears  of  Great  Britain,  might  give  rise  to  a 
premature  contest,  and  terminate  not  only  the  advantages  we 
enjoyed  from  neutrality,  but  our  rights  as  a  commercial 
nation.  In  our  imbecile  state,  he  saw  war  could  neither 
punish  insult — nor  retaliate  injury;  but  would  lead  to  a  de- 
privation of  that  access  to  the  ocean — which  is  essential  to 
our  wealth  and  glory.  He  was  convinced  of  the  folly  of 
that  boasted  warfare  of  commercial  restrictions  which  was 
proposed  during  his  presidency  by  Madison,  and  which  when 
since  tried  in  practice — has  proved  more  injurious  to  our- 
selves than  to  our  enemies.  He  knew  that  as  commercial 
intercourse  could  never  have  arisen  without  mutual  advan- 
tage— it  could  not  be  interrupted  without  reciprocal  injury." 

"  Is  not  Great  Britain  quite  as  justifiable  in  using  the 
ocean  for  her  purposes — as  we  are  for  employing  our  immense 
territory  for  ours?  We  have  had  no  other  justification  for 
taking  it  from  the  aborigines,  than  that  they  were  too  weak, 
too  ignorant — or  too  unwise  to  defend  it;  and  have  not  the 
British  all  these  apologies  for  depriving  us  of  the  ocean? 
For  although  there  be  wisdom — knowledge — and  strength  in 
our  country,  adequate  to  justify  a  very  different  character — 
have  we  not  to  lament  the  total  absence  of  these  qualifications 
— in  the  actual  conduct  of  the  nation?  " 

"Considering  all  other  nations  as  her  natural  foes,  the  true 
policy  of  America  is  to  direct  her  whole  energy  to  the  creation 
of  a  power,  adequate  at  some  more  favorable  juncture — to  ele- 
vate her  above  the  evils  of  vassalage — or  the  fear  of  tyranny." 

"  Though  England  can  subsist  without  us,  she  is  not  in- 
sensible to  the  great  advantages  of  an  amicable  intercourse, 
and  so  long  as  she  is  in  dread  of  the  growing  power  of  her 
rival,  she  will  be  glad  to  purchase  these  benefits,  by  allowing 
us  a  commercial  freedom,  which  her  power  enables  her  to 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  25 

deny.  To  refuse  those  advantages  which  her  fears  or  her 
necessities  compel  her  to  yield — because  she  will  not  grant 
us  all,  that  in  theory  we  might  correctly  demand,  would  evi- 
dently be  impolitick — as  on  the  other  hand  it  would  be  dis- 
graceful if  we  could  look  forward  with  indifference  to  the 
permanency  of  that  degrading  predicament,  by  which  the 
extension  of  our  commerce — is  limited  by  its  subserviency 
to  her  interest — and  the  duration  of  our  repose — dependent 
on  the  continuation  of  her  power. 

Some  Americans  may  exclaim,  let  us  rather  abandon  the 
ocean,  than  enjoy  such  a  partial,  and  degrading  participa- 
tion in  maritime  advantages.  To  me,  however,  it  appears, 
that  a  total  renunciation  of  the  ocean,  is  the  lowest  degrada- 
tion ;  and  the  utter  impossibility  of  enforcing  this  abandon- 
ment in  practice,  has  already  been  demonstrated.  A  portion 
of  our  countrymen  are  amphibious,  and  we  might  as  well 
forbid  the  birds  to  fly,  or  the  fishes  to  swim,  as  deny  them 
access  to  their  favourite  element.  Besides,  a  total  renuncia- 
tion, cuts  off  all  hope  of  future,  as  well  as  of  present  com- 
mercial power;  and  should  the  command  of  the  Atlantick 
ever  fall  into  the  power  of  any  nation,  on  whom  we  should 
have  no  tie  of  interest,  our  seaboard  might  be  frequently 
subjected  to  the  inroads  of  hostility,  and  its  horrid  concomi- 
tants— plunder — and  bloodshed. 

By  our  situation,  and  by  the  genius  of  our  government — 
a  navy  is  our  most  effectual — and  safest  bulwark.  It  is  the 
only  engine  of  warfare,  that  can  never  aid  in  domestick  op- 
pression— always  terrible  to  our  enemies — and  never  danger- 
ous to  ourselves. 

Were  our  shores  unprotected  by  a  navy,  a  large  military 
force  would  in  a  state  of  warfare  be  requisite  throughout  the 
whole  of  our  immense  coast,  to  guard  it  from  the  sudden 
attack  of  the  enemy.  This  would  be  no  less  oppressive  in 
expense  and  far  more  dangerous  to  liberty." 


26  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

"  The  only  obstacle  to  the  creation  of  a  navy — is  the  ex- 
pense; but  all  history  demonstrates,  that  no  economy  is  so 
false — as  that  which  leaves  a  nation  defenceless.  Governed 
by  laws,  which  if  they  do  not  stimulate — are  not  injurious  to 
industry — a  prospect  of  wealth  is  open  to  us  greater  than 
has  ever  been  displayed  to  a  nation,  if  we  be  well  defended 
against  foreign  oppression." 

"  The  debts  contracted  for  this  invaluable  purpose,  must 
inevitably  be  answered,  by  the  prosperity  they  insure.  Par- 
simonious views — would  have  checked  our  glorious  revolu- 
tion. The  fear  of  bequeathing  debt  to  posterity — is  absurd. 
If  we  leave  to  them  the  power  to  defend  their  rights:  and 
thus  secure  their  future  opulence,  we  provide  eventually, 
ample  means  to  answer  every  draught.  But  if  we  should 
bequeath  them — imbecility — and  hopeless  vassalage;  we  leave 
to  them  a  burden  which  nothing  can  relieve." 

'  The  aversion  of  the  majority  of  our  countrymen  from 
national  debt  is  our  greatest  obstacle.  Familiar  with  the 
evils  arising  from  insolvency,  in  any  of  the  members  of 
society; — by  a  false  association,  or  analogy,  they  presume 
that  the  insolvency  of  a  government,  must  be  pregnant  with 
consequences  equally  injurious  to  a  nation.  They  are  not 
aware  that  so  long  as  the  interest  on  publick  debt  is  paid, 
insolvency  in  a  government  is  only  apparent.  Nor  do  they 
see  that  credit  is  under  some  circumstances,  equivalent  to 
capital; — and  that  as  much  may  be  lost,  by  not  employing 
credit — as  by  not  occupying  capital." 

"  The  following  I  imagine  to  be  a  simple,  and  obvious 
illustration  of  the  primitive  operation  of  credit,  as  a  means 
of  commercial  interchange: —  A  raw  material,  being  sold  on 
credit,  in  lieu  of  remaining  idle  in  the  hands  of  the  farmer, 
becomes  in  those  of  the  manufacturer,  an  useful  article; 
and  he  is  enabled  to  return  the  farmer  a  better  price,  and  to 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  27 

furnish  the  merchant  or  consumer,  a  larger  and  cheaper  sup- 
ply, for  home  consumption  or  exportation.  The  same,  or 
other  merchants  or  manufacturers  in  the  meantime,  afford  to 
the  same  or  other  farmers,  the  necessary  articles  for  consump- 
tion, or  implements  for  agriculture,  which  would  have  re- 
mained useless  in  their  shops  or  stores,  unless  the  parties  at  the 
outset,  should  have  a  sufficient  command  of  some  substantial 
medium  of  interchange,  to  make  their  respective  purchases. 
In  the  negotiation  thus  cited,  each  individual  buys  through 
the  medium  of  his  credit,  and  the  several  persons  concerned, 
may  have  current  accounts  with  each  other,  without  any 
reference  to  money,  unless  as  the  received  standard  of  value. 
In  this  case,  therefore,  the  employment  of  credit,  supercedes 
that  of  gold  and  silver,  or  any  other  substantial  medium  of 
interchange;  and  it  may  be  considered  as  performing  the 
office  of  such  a  medium,  in  a  limited  degree." 

"  Under  a  strict  system  of  law,  where  the  payment  of 
debts  is  rigorously  enforced,  credit  in  that  simple  and  primi- 
tive form  in  which  it  has  just  now  been  depicted,  so  far  as  it 
answers  the  purpose  of  a  medium  of  interchange,  is  preferable 
to  money." 

'  The  manufacturing  or  trading  stock,  which  had  been 
preserved  by  the  care,  or  exertion  of  the  father;  would  in 
many  cases  be  dissipated  by  the  sloth  or  extravagance  of  the 
son; — and  the  frugal  and  industrious  son,  would  no  less 
often  be  deprived  by  the  indolent  and  extravagant  father,  of 
that  command  of  capital,  which  had  been  conferred  on  his 
ancestors, — but  credit  being  in  a  great  measure  created  by 
industry,  skill  and  integrity — the  possessor  of  these  in  every 
well  regulated  society,  will  have  a  greater  or  less  command  of 
such  portions  of  the  general  stock  or  capital,  as  he  can  employ 
to  so  much  greater  advantage  than  the  possessors,  as  to  afford 
them  a  greater  compensation  for  the  loan  of  it,  than  they 


38  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

could  otherwise  derive:  provided,  that  his  pretensions  to 
credit  be  known  to  those,  who  may  have  the  particular  articles 
which  it  maybe  his  interest  to  borrow,  or  their  interest  to  lend." 

"  I  trust  it  may  be  sufficiently  plain  from  what  I  have 
advanced,  that  those  who  are  endowed  with  mercantile  credit, 
enjoy  a  valuable  qualification  or  privilege  in  trade,  when 
compared  with  those  who  have  not  this  endowment." 

"  The  various  papers  thus  endowed  with  alienated  credit, 
have  been  designated  by  the  generick  term — paper  credit." 

"Alienated  credit  may  be  no  less  current  than  coin,  as 
in  the  case  of  bank  checks  or  notes ;  or  it  may  have  a  limited  or 
sluggish  currency,  as  in  the  case  of  mercantile  notes,  or  bonds, 
bills  or  certificates." 

"Among  nations,  in  a  mode  in  some  degree  similar,  credit 
as  a  medium  of  commercial  interchange,  has  the  advantage, 
when  compared  with  gold  and  silver  money." 

"Any  great  extension  or  diffusion  of  the  advantages  of 
credit  demands  a  high  degree  of  security  from  internal  dis- 
turbance, or  external  dangers;  and  an  improved  state  of 
trade,  law,  and  morality." 

"  The  difficulty  attendant  on  the  conception  that  paper 
credit  should  be  comprised  in  an  estimate  of  national  capital, 
arises  from  the  notion,  that  the  debt  itself  is  the  object  of 
valuation;  whereas  the  real  object  of  valuation,  is  the  prin- 
ciple by  which  the  debt  is  enabled  to  exist." 

"An  objection  to  credit  as  a  medium  of  interchange,  may 
be  founded  on  its  liability  to  depreciation  in  moments  of 
alarm,  arising  from  anarchy  or  invasion." 

"  The  very  active  currency  of  bank  checks  and  notes,  is 
due  to  their  superiority  over  gold  and  silver  money,  in  con- 
veniency  of  form  and  bulk." 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  29 

"  Bonds,  bills,  notes,  bank  stock,  or  national  certificates, 
owe  their  more  sluggish  currency,  to  the  payment  of  that 
interest,  discount,  or  dividend,  which  renders  it  desirable  or 
satisfactory  to  many  individuals,  to  keep  them  in  preference 
to  money;  as  they  afford  equal  security  against  eventual 
want,  and  are  productive  of  a  revenue  to  the  holder." 

"  Our  publick  debt  may  accumulate  in  a  regular  ratio,  to 
the  demand  for  banking  or  insurance  capital;  and  in  these 
states  bank  paper,  as  a  circulating  medium,  obtains  a  decided 
preference  over  gold  and  silver;  it  follows,  that,  although 
our  country  is  not  rich  in  these  metals,  it  is  rich  in  an  equiva- 
lent principle  of  wealth." 

"  The  alienation  of  bank  credit  in  the  form  of  notes, 
might  be  deemed  a  permanent  sale,  if  these  institutions  were 
permanent ;  but  as  they  are  temporary,  it  must  be  deemed  a 
lease  during  the  period  of  their  existence.  For  though  their 
notes  may  be  returned  to  one  individual,  they  are  immediately 
paid  away  to  another;  the  quantity  alienated,  being  on  the 
whole  nearly  the  same.  Banks,  therefore,  may  be  considered 
as  associations  for  creating  and  loaning  credit." 

"  Banks  receive  interest  or  discount  for  the  loan  of  their 
credit.  Governments  receive  capital  or  services  in  return 
for  theirs,  paying  interest  as  I  have  already  observed,  for 
the  difference  between  the  currency  of  their  stock,  and  the 
currency  of  money." 

"  The  alienation  of  the  publick  credit,  should  be  con- 
sidered as  a  permanent,  and  complete  sale." 

"  Enough  has  been  said  to  demonstrate,  that  the  poorer 
classes  of  society  are  very  much  gainers,  if  the  capital  ob- 
tained from  wealthy  citizens,  or  foreigners  through  the 
medium  of  the  publick  credit,  be  employed  in  the  execution 
of  designs  worthy  of  its  value.  In  any  event,  the  poorer 


SO  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

classes  can  have  no  reason  to  complain,  as  they  can  never 
be  called  upon  to  pay  more  than  that  annual  interest,  which 
is  so  trifling  when  compared  with  the  annual  advantage,  if 
the  capital  obtained  by  it,  be  invested  in  objects  permanently 
beneficial.  I  say  permanently,  because  it  does  not  appear 
correct  to  employ  the  means  afforded  by  credit,  in  defraying 
the  ordinary  expenses  of  government.  This  would  in  truth 
be  a  robbery  of  posterity;  and  in  order  to  avoid  a  measure 
so  replete  with  opprobrium,  the  publick  credits  should  only 
be  resorted  to  under  circumstances,  where  the  permanent 
character,  or  prosperity  of  the  nation  may  be  at  stake." 

"And  shall  Americans  prefer  a  grovelling  commercial 
inferiority — to  a  publick  debt — the  expected  evils  of  which 
are  proved  to  be  imaginary;  while  the  advantages  may  be 
equivalent — to  national  salvation — or  to  the  difference  be- 
tween the  degrading  situation  in  which  we  now  repose — and 
that  glorious  rank  to  which  we  should  have  been  elevated — 
by  the  policy  of  Washington,  and  his  coadjutors?  " 

'  The  only  objection  to  borrowing,  is  the  uncertainty  of 
the  issue  of  the  trade,  in  which  the  loan  may  be  invested. 

But  the  United  States  may  be  considered  as  a  trader, 
whose  prosperous  returns  are  mathematically  certain,  if 
through  timidity  or  negligence,  he  does  not  refuse,  or  neglect 
the  advantages,  which  are  strewed  in  his  path." 

'  The  question  then  arises — will  the  chances  of  a  wise 
and  honest  administration  of  affairs,  be  increased  by  extend- 
ing to  foreigners  the  privileges  of  voting?  The  honesty  and 
ability  of  those  who  govern,  must  be  determined  by  the 
degree  in  which  virtue  prevails  over  vice — and  wisdom  over 
folly — among  those  by  whom  they  are  chosen.  If  then  in 
the  United  States  the  preponderance  of  virtue  over  vice,  and 
of  wisdom  over  folly — be  sufficient,  whence  can  arise  any 
advantage,  either  to  ourselves,  or  to  foreigners,  from  admit- 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  31 

ting  them  to  the  right  of  suffrage.  And  if  the  preponder- 
ance should  unfortunately  take  place  in  the  opposite  scale, 
will  it  be  counteracted  by  the  assistance  of  emigrants  taking 
them  in  the  aggregate?  " 

"  My  objections  to  the  present  system  of  suffrage,  are 
not  founded  on  desire  to  deprive  the  mass  of  mankind  of 
their  inherent  rights  to  self-government  —  but  on  a  desire  to 
secure  objects  of  which  the  mass  of  society  are  competent 
to  judge.  When  incapable  of  understanding  the  tendency 
of  their  suffrages,  they  cannot  be  said  to  enjoy  their  votes. 
They  may  vote  for  measures  tending  the  very  opposite  of  the 
consequences  which  they  really  wish." 

The  brochure,  containing  the  sentiments  just  quoted, 
attracted  wide  attention  and  was  approved  by  distinguished 
men.  Later  (  1834)  it  was  revised  and  reprinted  as  an  "  Essay 
On  Credit,  As  Money,"  4  to  which  subsequent  reference  will 
be  made. 

Business  —  contact  with  the  great  outer  world  —  is  respon- 
sible for  the  preceding  digression  into  a  field  quite  foreign  to 
experimental  science.  But  it  is  with  a  keen  sense  of  pleasure 
that  one  turns  to  and  reads  the  following  communications 
addressed  to  a  friend  of  similar  tastes,  thinking  along  the 
lines  which  quite  early  led  to  a  most  happy  friendship. 


"  D'.  SUliman 

I  thank  you  for  your  account  of  your  interesting  experi- 
ments —  Your  apology  for  your  delay  in  replying  to  my  letter 
was  unnecessary  to  me  as  I  shall  never  suspect  you  of  wilful 
neglect  I  can  so  fully  understand  the  hurry  of  your  experi- 
ments &  other  occupations  —  I  am  sorry  I  cannot  bend  my 
attention  the  way  you  encline  it  —  I  have  during  the  past  two 
years  been  occupied  in  the  improvement  of  my  casks  &  the 

4  Philadelphia.    Printed  by  John  C.  Clark,  No.  60  Dock  St. 


32  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

valves  for  closing  them — It  is  astounding  what  a  variety  of 
modes  of  effecting  the  purpose  of  the  common  cock  have 
been  overlooked.  I  have  been  puzzled  and  perplexed  by 
the  variety  that  have  offered  themselves  &  in  deciding  be- 
tween the  various  motives  for  preference  presented  by  them. 
Without  having  become  a  mechanick  I  never  could  have  suc- 
ceeded— When  I  return  again  to  rove  unshackled  in  the 
path  of  experiment  I  shall  come  with  new  powers. 

Your  apparatus  is  very  handsomely  arranged — Some 
time  when  I  have  leisure  I  will  send  you  a  little  improvement 
I  have  designed  for  keeping  the  f rustrum  in  which  the  gases 
meet  free  from  the  ill  consequences  of  the  great  heat — I  wish 
you  could  combine  the  effects  of  the  galvanic  trough  &  of 
the  compound  blowpipe — I  should  like  if  possible  to  see  the 
influences  of  Caloric  &  galvanic  electricity  united — Perhaps 
the  heat  would  destroy  the  circuit — Would  it  be  possible  to 
give  a  shock  from  an  electrick  battery  to  the  earth,  when 
exposed  to  caloric  of  this  intensity — 

To  return  to  Business — I  have  not  as  yet  sold  any  of  my 
casks  nor  made  up  my  mind  to  part  with  them — Yet  it  is 
probable  I  may  find  it  [to]  my  interest  to  permit  them  to  be 
employed  for  cyder  as  this  may  favour  the  demand  for  my 
porter  in  situations  where  the  return  of  the  casks  would  be 
difficult  &  expensive — The  price  is  cheaper  in  proportion  for 
large  than  small  ones.  A  ten  gallon  one  about  eight  dollars. 
The  latter  is  about  equal  to  the  content  of  a  gross  of  Porter 
Bottles. 

I  remain  as  ever 
Professor  Silliman  Very  sincerely 

Yale  College  Your  friend 

New  Haven."  ROB*.  HARE/' 

Do  not  the  words,  "  when  I  return  again  to  rove  un- 
shackled in  the  path  of  experiment "  tell  the  longing  of  this 
great  exemplar  of  experimentation  for  the  opportunity  to 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  33 

busy  himself  uninterruptedly  with  his  beloved  science?  Im- 
perative necessity  had  compelled  him  to  become  a  man  of 
business,  but,  while  thus  occupied,  he  thought  upon  the  prob- 
lems which  had  engaged  Silliman  and  himself  in  earlier  days, 
as  well  as  upon  more  recent  advances,  e.g.,  galvanism.  There 
is  also  apparent  an  eye  to  advantage  in  the  words  : 

"  I  may  find  it  to  my  interest  to  permit  them  (the  casks) 
to  be  employed  for  cyder  as  this  may  favour  the  demand  for 
my  porter.  .  .  ." 

From  the  next  communication  one  may  well  conclude  that 
"  the  important  event  "  referred  to  was  his  marriage  to 
Miss  Harriett  Clark,  of  Providence,  R.  I.  This  occurred  on 
September  11,  1811.  To  this  worthy  couple  were  born  in 
the  course  of  time  five  sons  and  a  daughter.  Two  of  the  sons 
died  quite  young.  John  Innes  Clark  Hare,  the  second  child, 
studied  chemistry  under  his  father  and  subsequently  abroad, 
but  later  entered  upon  the  law,  in  which  he  met  with  signal 
success,  becoming  a  professor  in  the  Law  School  of  the  Uni- 
versity and  later  a  judge  in  the  Courts  of  Philadelphia, 
where  he  was  most  highly  esteemed  and  honored.  Other 
sons,  who  lived  into  middle  age,  were  Robert  Harford  Hare 
and  George  Harrison  Hare.  The  daughter,  Lydia,  in  due 
time,  became  Mrs.  Frederick  Prime,  of  New  York  City. 


"  Dear  Silliman  ;<  "  Philad^  Oct°'  16'h  1811 

I  thank  you  for  your  kind  letter  congratulating  me  on  an 
event  which  you  justly  deem  the  most  important  in  this  world 
—  I  regret  you  should  still  suffer  from  the  unfortunate  ex- 
plosion of  which  you  give  me  an  account  —  Higgins  you  must 
remember  suffered  exactly  in  the  same  way  from  trusting 
that  moisture  would  prevent  the  explosion. 

The  tightness  of  my  casks  was  not  accomplished  without 
great  difficulty  —  I  was  18  months  devising  &  experimenting 
ere  I  succeeded  in  making  them  perfect  —  My  success  however 


34  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

is  complete  —  I  found  on  my  arrival  at  New  York  six  casks 
which  had  been  sent  there  in  the  beginning  of  September  in 
a  high  state  of  ripeness  equalling  the  pressure  of  about  three 
atmospheres  —  Although  more  than  a  month  had  elapsed  not 
a  drop  of  liquor  appeared  to  have  escaped  &  the  ripeness  had 
increased. 

The  heads  I  have  latterly  made  of  cast  iron  —  The  diam- 
eter of  a  barrel  is  reduced  by  12  inches  the  length  42  inches. 
Hence  the  heads  are  light  &  do  not  cost  more  than  from  60 
to  75  cents  each  —  being  from  J4  to  %  thick  &  concave  on  the 
external  surface  in  a  small  degree  forming  an  arch  the  versed 
sine  of  which  is  about  y2  inch  —  The  120  bll.  casks  are  about 
the  same  length  &  diameter  8*^  —  The  bilge  of  both  being 
raised  very  much.  —  The  internal  surface  of  the  cask  is  heated 
as  far  as  possible  without  ignition  &  soaked  with  melted  bees- 
wax while  hot.  The  heads  are  covered  with  mastic  dipped  in 
eggs  &  quicklime  in  the  same  way  as  in  luting  &  are  then 
heated,  covered  with  -a  film  of  wax  &  placed  in  the  irons  of  the 
casks  while  warm  enough  to  keep  the  wax  completely  in 
fusion  —  I  used  sometimes  two  pieces  of  plank  luted  together 
by  white  &  red  lead  with  lintseed  oil  &  turned  to  that  a  portion 
of  each  went  to  form  the  tongue  entering  the  irons  of  the  cask 
—  You  tell  me  to  send  you  a  barrel  of  porter  but  don't  say 
whether  in  bottles  in  the  patent  casks  or  common  ones  —  If 
you  wish  a  patent  cask  I  must  procure  a  friend  to  take  on  to 
you  the  instrument  for  drawing  the  liquor  from  the  valve. 

Pray  inform  me  of  your  wishes  —  It  will  not  be  in  my 
power  to  supply  you  with  good  bottled  porter  being  out  of 
my  last  winters  stock  — 

I  am  as  ever  yours  sincerely  ROB*.  HARE/' 


"  D'.  Silliman  "  Phika  Maroh  19'h  1812 

I  have  only  time  to  inform  you  that  I  have  shipped  your 
glass  on  board  of  the  schooner  Express  Captn.  L.  Hommedieu 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  35 

— who  has  engaged  to  deliver  them  on  Board  a  New  Haven 
Packet  for  you  when  he  arrives  at  New  York — 

Should  you  want  a  correspondent  at  Pittsburg  who  is 
conversant  with  Chemistry  &  chemical  apparatus  if  you  will 
write  to  Dr.  Joel  Lewis  Junr.  &  say  you  did  so  at  my  request 
you  may  be  assur'd  of  a  prompt  &  willing  attention — Any 
money  you  may  want  paid  you  may  refer  to  me  for  you  know 
at  Pittsburg  a  bill  on  Philadela.  is  as  good  as  cash — The  triffle 
I  have  now  paid  is  not  worth  attention  till  we  have  further 
dealings —  Yours  as  ever 

ROB*.  HARE." 

You  may  see  my  mechanical  hands  or  the  effects  of  them  on 
this." 

(The  allusion  here  is  to  a  roughly  written  note  and  to 
blotches  upon  the  paper.) 

"D'.  Sillunan  "  ™^  APril  «*  1812 

I  reed  your  letter  respecting  the  gold  a  few  days  ago 
but  have  been  too  much  occupied  to  make  the  necessary  re- 
search until  this  day — Fortunately  Lewis's  Commercium  is 
in  my  library  &  I  have  examined  him — He  is  however  so 
diffuse  &  unmethodical  that  I  cannot  convey  his  ideas  on  the 
subject  of  gold,  without  writing  a  short  pamphlet — It  will 
be  necessary  that  the  difficulty  of  your  enquirer  should  be 
more  precisely  stated — &  then  I  shall  know  if  Lewis  can  aid 
him — I  will  however  observe  that  he  gives  his  opinion  that 
solution  in  aqua  regia,  &  precipitation  by  sulphat  of  iron  is  the 
only  way  of  procuring  gold  in  a  state  of  purity — He  men- 
tions however  cementing  the  metal  in  a  very  thin  laminse  in 
a  mixture  of  nitre  or  common  salt  &  green  vitriol  with  brick 
dust  exposed  to  a  strong  heat  &  also  exposing  it  to  what  he 
calls  antimony — the  sulphur  of  which  destroys  the  baser 
metals  while  the  antimony  unites  with  the  gold  &  is  subse- 
quently driven  off  by  heat  &  oxydizement — I  suppose  he 
must  mean  a  sulphur et  of  antimony — 


36  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

I  wish  you  would  furnish  an  account  of  your  late  repeti- 
tion of  my  experiments  to  the  mineralogical  Journal  of 
New  York  or  some  other  publication — Murray  is  the  only 
European  compiler  that  has  condescended  to  notice  them  or 
to  treat  the  earths  as  fusible  matters.  Bruce  wrote  to  me  for 
some  acct.  of  them  but  though  I  ref er'd  him  to  my  memoir 
with  some  directions  he  has  not  I  believe  noticed  it  as  he 
professed  himself  desirous  of  doing. 

Your  friend  called  and  paid  the  amt  of  the  land  carriage 
of  your  glass.  The  freight  has  not  yet  been  paid — I  have 
been  too  much  occupied  to  pay  him  any  attention — I  have 
not  dined  at  home  these  three  weeks — I  shewed  him  when  he 
called  some  tubes  of  lead  or  tin  I  had  been  casting — I  have 
rendered  my  apparatus  so  expeditious  as  to  mould  25  8^ 
inch  lengths  in  11  minutes— 

I  am  as  ever 
Yours 

R.  HARE." 

"  P.  S.  Perhaps  you  had  better  send  the  account  of 
your  experiments  to  Nicholson  as  it  may  be  neglected  if  it 
appears  first  on  this  side  of  the  water — Original  matter 
though  of  less  intrinsick  value  generally  receives  more  atten- 
tion than  that  which  has  previously  been  printed — &  espe- 
cially if  it  has  the  misfortune  first  to  shew  itself  here- 
Even  in  more  modern  times  literature  upon  experimental 
subjects,  if  first  printed  in  this  country,  received  but  little 
consideration  from  the  editors  of  foreign  journals.  This  cus- 
tom must  have  irritated  Hare  very  considerably,  for  it  hap- 
pened that  in  some  European  publications  the  description  of 
his  compound  blowpipe  and  its  extended  uses  were  credited  to 
a  French  savant. 

On  page  17  there  is  declared  by  Dr.  Rush  to  Mr.  George 
Clymer  that  the  Trustees  of  the  University  would  render  a 
service  to  medical  education  by  the  introduction  of  a  course  on 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  37 

natural  philosophy  into  the  curriculum.  He  further  recom- 
mended that  Robert  Hare  be  placed  in  charge  of  the  instruc- 
tion. This  idea  seems  at  times  to  have  seriously  engaged  the 
thoughts  of  the  Trustees,  for  in  1812  they  approached  Hare 
upon  the  subject,  receiving  in  reply  to  their  advances  the 
following  letter: 

"  To  the  Trustees  of  the 

University  of  Pennsylvania 
Gent" 

A  considerable  period  of  time  has  intervened  since  I  in- 
formed you  that  unless  I  could  acquire  some  peculiar  claims 
to  notice  I  should  despair  of  rendering  the  professorship  of 
natural  philosophy  lucrative  to  myself  or  materially  bene- 
ficial to  the  publick  more  especially  as  you  had  thought  it 
necessary  to  restrict  the  lectures  to  objects  not  falling  within 
the  usual  course  of  medical  instruction  as  afforded  in  the 
university  &  to  leave  the  question  of  attendance  or  non 
attendance  to  the  option  of  the  pupils. — With  the  view  of 
acquiring  some  peculiar  claims  to  attention  I  had  made  every 
arrangement  for  visiting  Europe  as  soon  as  the  settlement 
of  the  affairs  of  my  late  father  should  liberate  me  from  the 
care  of  them  &  being  disappointed  in  the  sale  of  his  estate 
that  settlement  was  inevitably  procrastinated  however  de- 
sired &  sought  for  by  me.  Still  however  intent  upon  the 
improvement  of  the  property  while  under  my  management 
I  succeeded  in  an  invention  which  promised  to  render  my 
peculiar  services  highly  important  to  the  interests  of  my 
surviving  parent  &  others  concern'd.  Then  a  new  and  un- 
surmountable  duty  arose  in  opposition  to  that  prompt  atten- 
tion to  the  duties  of  my  appointment  which  it  was  my  ardent 
desire  to  afford  &  which  you  might  reasonably  have  demanded. 
I  did  not  however  feel  that  there  would  be  any  necessity  for 
my  resigning  the  chair  unless  some  one  should  appear  capable 
&  willing  to  perform  the  functions  belonging  to  it  especially 


38  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

as  I  could  not  altogether  give  up  the  hope  that  I  might 
eventually  be  enabled  to  perform  them.  In  this  predica- 
ment however  I  have  at  length  found  myself  placed  by  the 
arrival  of  Dr  Patterson  from  Europe  where  I  have  under- 
stood that  he  has  been  engaged  in  making  researches  cal- 
culated peculiarly  to  qualify  him  as  a  lecturer  in  experimental 
science.  I  feel  great  regret  when  I  review  the  impediments 
which  thus  oblige  me  to  cede  to  another  a  situation  for  which 
my  native  propensities  are  so  powerful.  It  is  nevertheless 
pleasing  to  me  to  relinquish  it  under  circumstances  favorable 
to  the  interests  of  the  medical  school  &  to  the  merits  of  a 
juvenile  candidate  who  actuated  by  the  same  taste  as  myself 
&  more  propitiously  situated  has  already  trodden  over  that 
preparatory  ground  which  my  judgment  had  pointed  out. 
I  am  Gentn 

With  due  respect 

Your  ob*  serV 

ROB*.  HARE." 

Manfully  determined  to  carry  out  certain  business  plans, 
Hare  continued  in  his  customary  way  and  waited.  His  dis- 
appointment was  great,  but  his  courage  prevailed. 

Hare  was  one  of  Washington's  most  "  devoted  political 
advocates,  having  always  styled  himself  a  Washington  Fed- 
eralist." On  one  occasion  (1812)  he  embodied  his  senti- 
ments of  admiration  in  these  verses : 

Hail,  glorious  day,  which  gave  Washington  birth, 

To  Columbia  and  liberty  dear, 
When  a  guardian  angel  descended  on  earth 

To  shed  blessings  o'er  many  a  year. 

Though  heroes  and  statesmen,  by  glory  enshrined 

May  be  seen  in  the  temple  of  fame, 
No  hero  or  statesman,  unblemished  we  find, 

Save  one,  bearing  Washington's  name. 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  39 

In  the  annals  of  war,  many  names  are  enrolled, 

Of  heroes  who  nations  enslaved; 
But  have  war's  bloody  annals  of  any  one  told, 

Who  a  nation  so  nobly  has  saved? 

Wealth,  titles,  and  power,   disdainfully  spurn'd 

Of  heroes  too  often  the  aim; 
From  a  king  or  his  favors  indignant  he  turn'd, 

Only  feeling  his   country's  high  claim. 

To  this  ever  true,  in  her  trouble's  dark  night, 

Intent  on  her  welfare  alone, 
Against  her  proud  tyrants,  he  urged  the  dread  fight, 

Till  he  forced  them  her  freedom  to  own. 

Next  in  France  a  strange  demon  uplifted  its  head, 

All  the  nations  of  earth  to  betray, 
And  into  its  snares  would  Columbia  have  led, 

Had  not  Washington  warned  her  to  stay. 

Best  and  wisest  of  men  !    When  counsell'd  by  thee, 
Could  thy  people  their  treasure  withhold? 

When  ruled  by  another,  then  could  they  agree 
To  lavish  their  millions  untold? 

By  Genet  insulted,  by  slander  aggrieved, 

If  thy  wrongs  unrevenged  could  remain, 

For  rulers  denouncing  whom  false  he  believed, 
By  a  mob  could  thy  Ligan  be  slain  ? 

Can  the  voice  of  the  country  for  whom  he  had  bled, 

E'er  pardon  a  murder  so  base, 
Or  the  tear-drops  of  millions,  piously  shed, 

The  deep  stain  from  our  annals  efface? 


«  D'.  Silliman        ~  r  '  1914 

I  have  understood  that  through  the  liberality  of  Mr. 
George  Gibbs  you  have  had  an  extensive  collection  of  min- 
erals added  to  your  cabinet  at  Yale  —  Are  they  so  arranged 
as  that  a  stranger  may  derive  much  benefit  from  them?  At 
what  time  do  your  lectures  commence  in  this  month  —  I  recol- 
lect you  told  me  you  entered  on  a  course  this  month  but  I  do 


40  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

not  remember  the  exact  time.  Mrs.  H  and  myself  have 
some  thoughts  of  taking  a  ride  which  her  health  seems  to 
require  &  desirous  of  combining  intellectual  with  physical 
improvement  we  have  turn'd  our  eyes  towards  New  Haven. 
It  would  give  me  pleasure  to  converse  with  you  on  the  late 
important  discoveries  &  innovations  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy 
— I  confess  I  admire  him  more  as  a  practical  than  as  a  theo- 
retical chemist.  It  seems  my  poor  little  discovery  is  doomed 
to  meet  mis-representation  on  every  side.  T.  Cooper  in  a  late 
number  of  the  Emporium  which  he  has  taken  from  the  incom- 
petent hands  of  Coxe  says  that  a  degree  of  heat  nearly  equal 
to  that  of  the  burning  glass  may  be  produced  by  a  blowpipe 
fed  with  the  hydrogen  &  oxygen  gasses.  You  may  possibly 
recollect  that  he  stumpt  me  when  I  was  showing  the  experi- 
ments before  Priestley  by  asserting  that  pure  platinum  had 
been  fused  in  an  air  furnace.  He  now  boasts  as  of  a  novelty 
of  agglutinating  the  native  grains — He  has  however  ren- 
dered his  work  interesting  &  is  proceeding  on  a  plan  of 
selection  which  I  always  thought  the  only  one  by  which  a 
periodical  publication  could  be  rendered  really  valuable,  in 
this  country. — 

I  hope  this  may  find  you  &  yours  well  &  happy.  I  am 
as  ever —  Yours 

ROB'  HAEE." 

The  "  Emporium  "  referred  to  was  the  Emporium  of  Arts 
and  Sciences  conducted  by  Thomas  Cooper,  Esq.,  Professor 
of  Chemistry  and  Natural  Philosophy,  Dickinson  College, 
Carlisle,  Pa.  This  journal  was  founded  by  Dr.  John  Red- 
man Coxe,  the  fortunate  competitor  for  the  professorship  in 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania  when  the  friends  of  Hare 
were  advocating  his  claims  and  fitness  for  the  same  chair. 

It  was  to  Vol.  1,  New  Series,  p.  180,  that  Hare  directed 
Silliman's  attention.  In  the  preface  occur  these  words  from 
Cooper: 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  41 

"  for  what  more  useful  work  could  the  public  desire,  than  one  which 
should  contain  a  judicious  selection  of  practical  papers  on  manufac- 
tures and  the  arts,  from  the  more  scarce  and  voluminous  among  the 
foreign  publications,  and  a  repository  for  original  papers  of  the  same 
description,  furnished  by  men  of  research  in  our  country?  " 

«  Dear  Silliman  ;  "  Philada  March  ^  1815 

I  enclose  you  a  letter  from  my  friend  Wm  Meredith,  Esq. 
recommending  a  young  gent"  to  your  good  offices  who,  he 
is  desirous  as  you  will  see,  should  finish  his  education  at  Yale. 
The  observations  on  the  score  of  religion  were  drawn  forth 
by  my  suggesting  some  doubt  that  it  might  interfere  with 
your  usual  system  to  have  one  who  is  expected  by  his  friends 
to  adhere  to  Judaish  belief  under  your  more  immediate  care. 
I  beg  you  will  candidly  state  whether  you  are  in  the  habit 
now  of  undertaking  for  a  due  compensation  the  care  of  young 
gent"  so  situated  and  whether  there  will  be  any  objection  on 
the  grounds  I  have  stated  if  on  others  there  should  be  none— 
Meredith  you  know  is  a  very  devout  Christian — The  boy  is 
I  believe  about  fourteen — I  presume  Wm  Woodbridge  led 
you  to  expect  a  visit  from  me  ere  now — I  have  indeed  seri- 
ously intended  it  but  in  business  depending  on  others  there 
is  always  room  for  delay  and  rarely  any  room  for  shortening 
transactions — It  is  still  however  my  hope  and  wish  to  visit 
you  and  I  still  believe  I  shall  accomplish  it — I  have  been  con- 
structing an  improved  blowpipe  which  I  conceive  will  add  to 
the  facility  of  producing  the  most  intense  heat— 

I  propose  to  employ  the  Olefiant  gas  instead  of  Hydro- 
gen &  have  no  doubt  the  effect  will  be  more  powerful — Pray 
do  you  leave  Xew  Haven  in  the  course  of  next  month — After 
so  long  being  delay'd  in  visiting  Yale  I  should  be  very  sorry 
to  go  there  and  find  you  away.  When  does  your  Mineral- 
ogical  course  begin — Do  you  think  Accum  of  London  is  to  be 
trusted  to  furnish  any  articles  wanted  in  the  chemical  line. 


42  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

The  war  has  given  the  finishing  blow  to  my  business  here 
and  I  shall  I  believe  have  to  turn  Lecturer  by  force  of  neces- 
sity— Coxe  is  universally  complained  of — Please  to  return 
an  early  answer  concerning  young  Nathans  as  I  shall  prob- 
ably soon  set  out  for  N.  Y.  and  if  I  do  not  go  to  Yale  imme- 
diately might  send  him  by  the  steamboat  in  case  you  encourage 
me  to  do  so —  Your  ever  faithful  friend 

ROB*  HARE." 

For  some  reason  Mr.  Meredith  was  extremely  interested 
in  young  Nathans.  In  his  letter  to  Silliman  he  mentions 
that  the  lad  was  inclined  toward  the  "  profession  of  a  Mer- 
chant "  and  says:  "  On  the  subject  of  Religion,  I  will  only 
remark  that  Jews  are  educated  here,  at  Harvard  &  at  New 
York — &  above  all,  at  Princeton  the  reputed  head  quarters 
of  Calvinism,  etc. — Will  Yale  be  more  narrow  than  Nassau?  " 

The  desire  to  reach  the  truth  was  ever  a  burning  passion 
with  Hare.  Hence,  it  is  easy  to  comprehend  his  thought  in 
the  following  verses: 

Oh,  Truth !  if  man  thy  way  could  find, 
Not  doomed  to  stray  with  error  blind, 

How  much  more  kind  his  fate ! 
But  wayward  still,  he  seeks  his  bane, 
Nor  can  of  foul  delusion  gain 

A  knowledge  till  too  late. 

By  sad  experience  slowly  shown, 

Thy  way  at  times  though  plainly  known, 

Too  late  repays  his  care ; 
While  in  thy  garb  dark  Error  leads, 
With  best  intent,  to  evil  deeds 

The  bigot  to  ensnare. 

Is  there  a  theme  more  highly  fraught 
With  matter  for  our  serious  thought 

Than  this  reflection  sad, 
That  millions  err  in  different  ways, 
Yet  all  their  own  impressions  praise, 

Deeming  all  others  bad? 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  43 

To  man  it  seems  no  standard's  given, 

No  scale  of  Truth  hangs  down  from  Heaven 

Opinion  to  essay; 
Yet  called  upon  to  act  and  think 
How  are  we  then  to  shun  the  brink 

O'er  which  so  many  stray  ? 

"  My  dear  Silliman 

I  should  have  written  to  you  by  mail  some  days  ago  of 
the  unfortunate  result  of  the  election  had  I  not  felt  too  much 
out  of  spirits — Dorsey  had  nine  Coxe  only  eight  votes — One 
of  my  friends  on  whom  the  most  explicit  reliance  was  placed 
was  induced  to  vote  for  Dorsey  in  consequence  of  the  repre- 
sentation of  Dr  Kuhn  who  left  no  stone  unturned  to  defeat 
our  hopes — He  had  been  a  patient  of  Dr  Physick  this  winter 
&  they  had  become  so  intimate  that  the  carriage  of  the  latter 
was  seen  often  to  stand  for  hours  before  Kuhn's  door. 

This  warped  the  old  mans  mind  altogether  to  the  side 
of  Dorsey  &  he  represented  to  the  Trustees  that  if  Dr  Coxe 
were  incompetent  in  his  present  station  he  would  be  still  more 
injurious  in  that  to  which  it  was  proposed  to  remove  him  as 
the  knowledge  of  materia  medica  is  more  important  to  a 
physician  than  a  knowledge  of  chemistry —  Had  I  been 
aware  of  these  representations  I  might  have  refer'd  to  a 
letter  written  by  Physick  &  Dorsey  to  the  board  some  years 
ago  requesting  that  the  chair  of  materia  medica  should  be 
merged  in  that  of  the  institutes  &  practice  &  also  have  stated 
that  those  gent"  had  been  quite  willing  Coxe  should  succeed 
provided  I  would  be  Dorsey 's  adjunct  in  Chemistry. 

It  is  unfortunate  I  was  lulled  into  so  much  security  as  I 
would  have  accepted  that  offer  had  I  supposed  there  was 
any  danger  of  the  failure  of  Dr  C.  .  .  .  It  is  in  contem- 
plation to  make  another  chair  of  chemistry  in  the  Department 
of  the  Arts  &  my  friends  wish  me  to  offer  for  it — Under  any 


44  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

other  circumstances  it  would  be  worth  nothing  hardly  but 
Coxe  is  so  very  unpopular  that  it  will  afford  an  opening 
probably  for  some  advantages  as  I  believe  the  trustees  would 
all  be  glad  to  get  rid  of  him. 

I  hope  Lyman  will  not  feel  disappointed  in  consequence 
of  any  hopes  I  may  have  awaken'd — I  write  this  in  answer  to 
yours  of  the  4th  though  I  have  not  mention'd  the  receipt  of  it. 

I  sent  your  platinum  by  ...  Spring,  Esq.  brother 
to  Binney.  It  is  rather  more  than  an  eighth  of  what  I  pur- 
chased for  40  nearly,  it  must  be  nearly  y2  Ib — Cost  therefore 
$5 — You  need  not  send  me  this  or  my  watch  at  present  as  I 
shall  probably  be  nearer  you  ere  long 

Your  friend 
Ap,  1816."  ROBT  HARE." 

In  this  letter  there  is  revealed  a  little  of  the  politics  which 
was  taking  place  in  medical  and  university  circles.  It  will 
be  recalled  that  in  1809,  Dorsey  and  others  were  very  desirous 
of  having  Hare  succeed  James  Woodhouse.  At  this  time 
there  were  those  who,  being  hostile  to  John  Redman  Coxe 
and  unwilling  that  he  should  have  the  Chair  of  Materia 
Medica,  were  ready,  however,  to  place  him  in  the  Chair  of 
Chemistry.  There  are  records  which  plainly  show  that  Coxe 
was  not  on  very  good  terms  with  any  of  his  colleagues;  at 
times  he  was  accused  of  encroaching  upon  the  work  of  other 
Chairs.  Indeed,  even  after  he  became  the  Professor  of  Chem- 
istry, he  busied  himself  to  such  a  degree  with  the  subject 
matter  properly  falling  in  other  departments,  that  the  Trus- 
tees were  finally  compelled  to  sever  his  connection  with  the 
institution.  This,  however,  did  not  take  place  until  about 
1835.  With  the  appointment  of  Coxe  to  the  chair  of  chem- 
istry, the  majority  then  favored  the  appointment  of  Dorsey 
to  the  chair  of  materia  medica;  this  prevented  a  vacancy 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  45 

occurring  in  the  chair  of  chemistry,  which  Hare  and  his 
friends  had  hoped  might  occur. 

It  was  during  the  year  1816  that  the  friends  of  Robert 
Hare  sought  information  from  every  possible  source  as  to  his 
fitness  for  the  duties  of  such  a  position  as  they  had  in  view. 
This  may  be  gathered  from  letters  sent  them  from  persons 
not  residing  in  Philadelphia.  Thus  to  General  Cadwalader, 
a  trustee  of  the  University,  Dr.  Jones  of  William  and  Mary 
College  expressed  himself  as  follows  on  March  22,  1816: 

"  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  reply  to  the  inquiry  con- 
tained in  your  favour  of  the  14th  inst.  as  the  subject  is  one 
upon  which  I  can  speak  without  hesitation. 

Mr.  Hare  has  distinguished  himself  not  only  by  his  knowl- 
edge of  Chymistry,  but  by  having  made  valuable  contribu- 
tions, both  to  the  means,  and  the  objects  of  chymical  inquiry; 
and  is  in  consequence  advantageously  known  to  the  Chymists 
of  Europe.  I  have  ever  regretted  that  other  avocations  had 
called  his  attention  from  a  pursuit  in  which  he  had  shown 
himself  so  eminently  qualified  to  excel. 

Should  my  opinion  have  any  influence  in  promoting  his 
appointment  to  the  Chymical  chair  in  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, I  shall  felicitate  myself  on  having  promoted  the 
interests  of  that  Institution  in  particular,  and  the  cause  of 
science  in  general. 

The  mechanical  skill  possessed  by  Mr.  Hare  is  an  ad- 
vantage of  high  importance,  as  it  renders  perfectly  easy  that 
which  without  it  would  frequently  be  relinquished  as  impos- 
sible. This  advantage,  as  useful  to  the  Institution  as  to  the 
professor,  is  not  likely  to  be  obtained  in  any  other  candidate 
for  the  chair." 

And  to  John  Hare  Powel,  a  brother  of  Robert  Hare, 
Henry  Brevoort,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  addressed  these  lines 
on  February  29,  1816: 

"  During  my  attendance  of  a  course  of  lectures  on  Chym- 


46  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

istry  in  the  winter  of  1813,  delivered  in  the  College  of  Edin- 
burgh, Dr.  Hope,  the  Professor,  in  describing  the  construc- 
tion of  your  brother's  blowpipe,  mentioned  his  name  in  the 
terms  following: 

"  *  For  the  invention  of  this  very  ingenious  machine,  we 
are  indebted  to  Mr.  Robert  Hare,  jun.,  of  Philadelphia;  a 
gentleman  whose  merits  claim  a  distinguished  rank  amongst 
the  successful  promoters  of  Chymistry,  in  the  United  States 
of  America.' ' 

And,  again,  to  General  Cadwalader,  Samuel  L.  Mitchell 
of  Columbia  University,  wrote  on  March  23,  1815: 

"  I  have  not  answered  your  letter  of  the  14th  inst.  earlier, 
on  account  of  a  violent  attack  of  the  croop,  which  has  incom- 
moded me  excessively.  You  honour  me  very  much  by  ask- 
ing my  opinion  concerning  the  qualifications  of  Mr.  Hare  to 
teach  Chymistry  as  a  Professor  in  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania. This  gentleman  has  been  known  to  me  for  ten 
years  or  more.  I  have  perused  some  of  the  pages  he  has  pub- 
lished on  Chymical  subjects.  I  have  uniformly  found  him 
ardent  in  the  pursuit  of  that  kind  of  science.  His  actual 
attainments  are  of  the  high  and  respectable  order,  and  he 
seems  to  be  particularly  qualified  for  devising  and  construct- 
ing experiments.  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  write  you  this 
opinion;  and  be  assured,  sir,  of  my  service  and  respect." 

Despite  these  hearty  endorsements  the  desired  goal,  as 
shown  in  Hare's  letter  of  April,  1816,  to  Silliman,  was  not 
reached. 

An  inspection  of  old  records  in  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania will  disclose  the  greatest  activity  among  medical 
men  to  preserve  this  position  for  men  of  their  own  particular 
profession. 

«  Dear  Silliman:  "  New  York  March  ^  1817 

About  ten  days  ago  I  gave  to  Captn  Johnson  of  the 
schooner  Encline  nineteen  pounds  &  a  half  of  lead  tubes 
which  he  undertook  to  deliver  to  you. 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  47 

I  have  been  much  disgusted  with  the  conduct  of  the  people 
in  an  important  district  here  for  without  conferring  with 
me  they  enter'd  into  arrangements  with  an  ignorant  fellow 
of  the  name  of  Monell  because  he  offered  illumination  at  half 
price.  I  in  consequence  have  concluded  to  let  them  manage 
it  together.  The  undertaking  is  very  laborious  responsible  & 
noisome — It  is  a  fearful  responsibility  to  have  the  eyes  of 
the  larger  portion  of  the  people  of  a  city  dependent  on  one  for 
sight  during  many  hours  of  the  four  &  twenty.  Unfortunately 
the  greater  part  of  the  Corporation  were  luke  warm  or  hostile 
to  my  undertaking  so  that  after  making  a  vast  quantity  of 
tubes  burners  it  was  not  possible  to  use  them.  The  funds 
which  I  had  calculated  to  return  into  my  hands  through  that 
medium  were  thus  rendered  useless  &  my  operations  too 
limited  to  admit  of  an  economical  use  of  fuel.  My  cylinder 
when  properly  fixed  gave  at  the  rate  of  260  cubick  feet  of 
gas  p  hour.  This  is  a  prodigious  quantity  to  be  extricated  in 
that  time.  In  the  coal  gas  process  three  times  that  quantity  is 
a  days  work  for  a  cylinder  of  the  same  dimensions — My  beam 
an  account  of  which  will  be  shortly  published  is  I  think  an  ad- 
mirable contrivance.  It  has  at  one  end  a  circular  arch  head  at 
the  other  a  variable  spiral  curve  arch  so  that  the  gasometer 
being  hung  at  one  end  &  a  weight  adequate  to  balance  it  at 
the  other;  this  same  weight  will  equiponderate  with  it  at  all 
points  of  its  immersion.  It  is  a  plan  simple,  devoid  of  friction, 
easy  of  execution,  &  susceptible  of  correction  at  any  time. 

Did  I  ever  mention  that  I  tried  an  experiment  with  two 
electrical  machines,  last  spring  as  I  had  proposed  to  do  with 
many,  in  a  previous  letter  to  you.  Cuthbertsons  Electrometer 
was  subjected  successively  to  the  action  of  two  electrical 
machines — The  effect  of  A  was  2  that  of  B  5 — The  two 
machines  were  now  put  into  action  connected  with  each  other 
&  with  the  Electrometer  according  to  my  plan:  That  is  the 
positive  conductor  of  A  communicating  with  the  negative 


48  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

conductor  of  B  the  positive  conductor  of  this  with  the  Elec- 
trometer. The  effect  on  the  latter  was  now  equal  to  seven. 
The  two  machines  were  each  separately  but  simultaneously 
connected  with  the  Electrometer  the  effect  was  less  than 
that  of  the  stronger  machine  alone  part  of  the  excess,  going 
off  through  the  weaker  one  by  a  retrograde  movement.  You 
know  my  object  was  in  this  way  to  produce  a  mechanical 
electricity  more  nearly  resembling  the  voltaic  where  the  sur- 
face is  divided  into  many  plates  of  small  area.  This  can  in 
my  opinion  never  be  attained  by  the  enlargement  of  a  single 
machine  any  more  than  the  pressure  in  the  hydrostatick  bel- 
lows can  be  increased  by  enlarging  the  pipe. 

I  have  written  to  Brande  of  the  Royal  Institution  giving 
an  account  of  this  project  &  experiment.  I  propose  that  a 
number  of  electrical  cylinders  shall  be  placed  in  a  common 
frame  &  turned  by  an  endless  cord  their  positive  &  negative 
poles  connected  as  above. — Does  not  the  result  I  obtained 
by  means  of  the  two  machines  overset  the  doctrine  of  the 
existence  of  two  fluids — Suppose  we  endeavour  to  explain 
the  effect  by  that  hypothesis — If  I  understand  it  the  action 
of  the  machines  determines  the  two  fluids  to  their  respective 
poles  or  conductors.  In  that  case  then  the  positive  influence 
of  the  first  &  the  negative  influence  of  the  second  ought  to 
neutralize  each  other  meeting  as  they  must  in  consequence 
of  the  connexion.  Now  by  the  other  hypotheses  the  positive 
&  negative  states  being  relative  not  absolute  that  which  it  is 
negative  in  one  view  may  well  be  positive  in  the  other  & 
hence  the  negative  pole  of  the  second  instrument  instead  of 
being  neutralized  by  the  positive  emission  from  the  first  may 
acquire  a  greater  efficiency. 

Dr  Clarke  has  been  using  us  scurvily.  I  presume  you 
must  have  read  of  his  alledged  discoveries  by  means  of  the 
heat  evolved  in  the  combustion  of  the  gaseous  elements  of 
water.  He  does  not  condescend  to  notice  your  experiments 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  49 

or  mine.  Brande  acknowledges  me  as  the  Author  but  does 
not  republish  our  experiments.  I  have  written  to  him  point- 
ing out  the  injustice  thus  done  us.  I  wish  you  would  write 
to  some  of  your  correspondents  on  this  subject.  It  appears 
that  they  have  not  succeeded  in  effecting  the  pretended  de- 
composition of  the  metalloidal  oxides  in  some  attempts  of  the 
Royal  Institution.  They  sneer  at  Clarke  and  say  they  knew 
that  wonderful  effects  were  produced  by  this  means  before 
by  the  accounts  published  in  America.  Do  you  recollect  I 
propos'd  to  use  the  gases  in  state  of  mixture  before  emission? 

Cooper  has  behav'd  with  his  usual  spirit  of  detraction  in 
an  article  in  Walsh's  reviews.  He  very  artfully  contrives  to 
transfer  Clouds  name  to  my  blowpipe — I  shall  take  him  to 
task  for  it.  Cloud  never  invented  a  blowpipe — If  he  invented 
anything  it  was  a  compound  gas  holder  not  a  compound  blow- 
pipe. But  it  differed  from  one  in  my  laboratory  when  at  his  re- 
quest &  in  his  presence  I  tried  some  experiments  only  in  the 
following  particulars.  Mine  was  of  wood  &  copper  his  of  tin. 
The  former  had  a  flat  receptacle  for  water  the  latter  had  a  tall 
conical  one.  I  leave  it  to  you  how  far  this  was  a  wise  altera- 
tion where  equability  of  pressure  was  an  object.  He  omitted 
various  appendages  which  were  not  necessary  to  his  purpose. 

Pray  assure  Mrs  Silliman  of  our  grateful  recollection  of 
her  attentions  &  the  flattering  partiality  you  have  both  so 
kindly  expressed  which  we  so  sincerely  reciprocate  that  we 
much  regret  that  our  abode  is  not  likely  to  be  nearer. 

You  must  excuse  me  for  scrawling — &  believe  your 
Ever  faithful  friend 

RoBfc  HARE." 

On  page  14  reference  was  made  to  the  sturdy  support 
shown  Hare  by  Silliman  in  the  days  when  the  question  of 
priority  in  regard  to  the  compound  blowpipe  was  raised. 
The  following  letter  to  the  scientific  public  may,  therefore, 
take  its  place  here  in  its  evident  chronological  order: 


50  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

"Yale  College,  April  7,  1817. 

'  Various  notices,  more  or  less  complete,  chiefly  copied 
from  English  newspapers,  are  now  going  the  round  of  the 
public  prints  in  this  country,  stating  that  "  a  new  kind  of 
fire  "  has  been  discovered  in  England,  or,  at  least,  new  and 
heretofore  unparalleled  means  of  exciting  heat,  by  which 
the  gems,  and  all  the  most  refractory  substances  in  nature, 
are  immediately  melted,  and  even  in  various  instances  dis- 
sipated in  vapour,  or  decomposed  into  their  elements.  The 
first  glance  at  these  statements,  (which,  as  regards  the  effects, 
I  have  no  doubt  are  substantially  true,)  was  sufficient  to 
satisfy  me,  that  the  basis  of  these  discoveries  was  laid  by  an 
American  discovery,  made  by  Mr.  Robert  Hare,  of  Phila- 
delphia, in  1801.  In  December  of  that  year,  Mr.  Hare  com- 
municated to  the  Chemical  Society  of  Philadelphia  his  dis- 
covery of  a  method  of  burning  oxygen  and  hydrogen  gases 
in  a  united  stream,  so  as  to  produce  a  very  intense  heat. 

In  1802,  he  published  a  detailed  memoir  on  the  subject, 
with  an  engraving  of  his  apparatus,  and  he  recited  the  effects 
of  his  instrument ;  some  of  which,  in  the  degree  of  heat  pro- 
duced, surpassed  any  thing  before  known. 

In  1802  and  1803,  I  was  occupied  with  him,  in  Philadel- 
phia, in  prosecuting  similar  experiments  on  a  more  extended 
scale;  and  a  communication  on  the  subject  was  made  to  the 
Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia.  The  memoir  is 
printed  in  their  transactions ;  and  Mr.  Hare's  original  memoir 
was  reprinted  in  the  Annals  of  Chemistry,  in  Paris,  and  in 
the  Philosophical  Magazine  in  London. 

Mr.  Murray,  in  his  System  of  Chemistry,  has  mentioned 
Mr.  Hare's  results  in  the  fusion  of  several  of  the  earths,  etc., 
and  has  given  him  credit  for  his  discovery. 

In  one  instance,  while  in  Europe,  in  1806,  at  a  public  lect- 
ure, I  saw  some  of  them  exhibited  by  a  celebrated  Professor, 
who  mentioned  Mr.  Hare  as  reputed  author  of  the  invention. 


FIEST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  51 

In  December,  1811,  I  instituted  an  extended  course  of 
experiments  with  Mr.  Hare's  blowpipe,  in  which  I  melted 
lime  and  magnesia,  and  a  long  list  of  the  most  refractory 
minerals,  gems,  and  others,  the  greater  part  of  which  had 
never  been  melted  before,  and  I  supposed  that  I  had  decom- 
posed lime,  barytes,  strontites,  and  magnesia,  evolving  their 
metallic  bases,  which  burnt  in  the  air  as  fast  as  produced.  I 
communicated  a  detailed  account  of  my  experiments  to  the 
Connecticut  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  who  published 
it  in  their  Transactions  for  1812 ;  with  their  leave  it  was  com- 
municated to  Dr.  Bruce's  mineralogical  Journal,  and  it  was 
printed  in  the  4th  number  of  that  work.  Hundreds  of  my 
pupils  can  testify  that  Mr.  Hare's  splendid  experiments,  and 
many  others  performed  with  his  blowpipe,  fed  by  oxygen 
and  hydrogen  gases,  have  been  for  years  past  annually  ex- 
hibited, in  my  public  courses  of  chemistry  in  Yale  College, 
and  that  the  fusion  and  volatilization  of  platina,  and  the  com- 
bustion of  that  metal,  and  of  gold  and  silver,  and  of  many 
other  metals;  that  the  fusion  of  the  earths,  of  rock  crystal, 
of  gun  flint,  of  the  corundum  gems,  and  many  other  very 
refractory  substances;  and  the  production  of  light  beyond 
the  brightness  of  the  sun,  have  been  familiar  experiments 
in  my  laboratory.  I  have  uniformly  given  Mr.  Hare  the 
full  credit  of  the  invention,  although  my  researches,  with  his 
instrument,  had  been  pushed  farther  than  his  own,  and  a 
good  many  new  results  added. 

It  is  therefore  with  no  small  surprise  that,  in  the  Annales 
de  Chimie  et  de  Physique,  for  September,  1816,  I  found  a 
translation  of  a  very  elaborate  memoir,  from  a  Scientific 
Journal,  published  at  the  Royal  Institution,  in  London,  in 
which  a  full  account  is  given  of  a  very  interesting  series  of 
experiments,  performed  by  means  of  Mr.  Hare's  instrument; 
or  rather  one  somewhat  differently  arranged,  but  depending 
on  the  same  principle.  Mr.  Hare's  invention  is  slightly  men- 


52  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

tioned  in  a  note,  but  no  mention  is  made  of  his  experiments, 
or  of  mine. 

On  a  comparison  of  the  memoir,  in  question  with  Mr. 
Hare's  and  with  my  own,  I  find  that  very  many  of  the  results 
are  identical,  and  all  the  new  ones  are  derived  directly  from 
Mr.  Hare's  invention,  with  the  following  differences — In 
Mr.  Hare's,  the  two  gases  were  in  distinct  reservoirs,  to  pre- 
vent explosion;  they  were  propelled  by  the  pressure  of  a 
column  of  water,  and  were  made  to  mingle,  just  before  their 
exit,  at  a  common  orifice.  In  the  English  apparatus,  the 
gases  are  both  in  one  reservoir,  and  they  are  propelled  by 
their  own  elasticity,  after  condensation,  by  a  syringe. 

Professor  Clarke,  of  Cambridge  University,  the  cele- 
brated traveller,  is  the  author  of  the  memoir  in  question;  and 
we  must  presume  that  he  was  ignorant  of  what  had  been 
done  by  Mr.  Hare  and  myself,  or  he  would  candidly  have 
adverted  to  the  facts. 

It  is  proper  that  the  public  should  know  that  Mr.  Hare 
was  the  author  of  the  invention,  by  means  of  which,  in  Europe, 
they  are  now  performing  the  most  brilliant  and  beautiful 
experiments;  and  that  there  are  very  few  of  these  results 
hitherto  obtained  there,  by  the  use  of  it,  (and  the  publication 
of  which  has  there  excited  great  interest,)  which  were  not, 
several  years  ago,  anticipated  here,  either  by  Mr.  Hare  or 
by  myself. 

As  I  have  cited  only  printed  documents,  or  the  testimony 
of  living  witnesses,  I  trust  the  public  will  not  consider  this 
communication  as  indelicate,  or  arrogant,  but  simply  a  matter 
of  justice  to  the  interests  of  American  science,  and  particu- 
larly  to  Mr.  Hare.  BENJAMIN  SHXIMAN." 

The  devoted  student  of  science  now  gave  up  his  Phila- 
delphia residence.  There  is  no  knowledge  of  the  reason  for 
this  step,  unless,  perhaps,  the  abandonment  of  business  and 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  53 

the  uncertainty  as  to  his  future  occupation.  It  is  also  pos- 
sible that  financial  straits  prompted  him  to  turn  to  Providence 
from  which  point  he  next  writes  to  his  dear  Silliman. 

"  My  dear  Silliman:  "  P^idence  April  23<  1817 

On  my  arrival  here  I  found  your  letter  enclosing  eleven 
dolls — Having  bid  a  permanent  adieu  to  New  York  &  hav- 
ing at  present  no  views  elsewhere  this  place  will  probably 
for  some  time  be  my  home.  Of  course  I  will  thank  you  to 
send  hither  the  Pamphlets  &  any  communications  for  me — 
I  left  the  enclosures  for  the  European  philosophers  at 
Mr  Eastburns  (reading  rooms)  whose  brother  will  go  to 
Europe  shortly  &  Mr  E  offer'd  to  put  into  his  hands  any 
thing  we  destined  for  that  part  of  the  world — I  need  not  say 
I  was  pleased  with  your  letter  in  the  Courier — If  the  rest  of 
the  world  estimated  my  humble  pretensions  as  you  do  I  should 
stand  higher  than  I  deserve — It  appears  to  me  however  that 
the  most  efficient  step  is  yet  to  be  taken  though  a  very  simple 
one  which  is  to  solicit  a  republication  of  your  memoir  in  one 
of  the  London  Journals — You  may  possibly  remember  that 
I  suggested  this  measure  when  it  was  first  transmitted  me 
though  you  modestly  satisfied  yourself  with  publishing  it  in 
the  mineralogical  journal  &  letting  it  take  its  course. — It 
really  seems  bad  policy  to  publish  any  thing  in  this  Country 
upon  Science  especially  in  the  first  instance — It  is  rarely 
attended  to  in  England  &  we  are  so  low  in  capacity  at  home 
that  few  appreciate  any  thing  which  is  done  here  unless  it  is 
sanction'd  abroad.  A  very  sensible  young  friend  of  mine 
who  had  been  in  England  speaking  of  my  pamphlet  told  me 
as  a  ground  of  exultation  that  it  was  very  near  being  re- 
viewed in  the  Edinburgh  Review — a  prodigious  honour  to  be 
sure — There  is  nothing  I  am  now  satisfied  in  which  there  is 
more  intrigue  or  charlatanism  than  in  the  business  of  literary 
or  scientifick  reputation. — Tilloch  having  republished  my 


54  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

memoir  will  probably  be  willing  to  republish  yours — If  you 
think  proper  send  it  to  him  yourself  or  if  you  prefer  it  I  will — 
Mr  Eastburn  will  no  doubt  despatch  it  by  his  brother  should 
you  send  it  to  his  care — He  is  very  fond  of  appearing  in  that 
sort  of  business  &  is  apparently  a  very  amiable  man  &  dis- 
posed to  oblige — 

You  will  see  a  cut  of  my  beam  probably  in  the  next  Nc 

of  the Magazine  by  Moses  Thomas  Philaa  &  also  a 

copy  of  my  letter  to  Brande  on  the  electrical  experiment — 

When  I  was  in  Philada  my  friends  suggested  the  idea  of 
my  opening  a  chemical  &  Drug  store  as  the  most  eminent  of 
the  Physicians  would  give  their  prescriptions — &  it  would  be 
a  great  help  in  any  views  on  the  chemical  chair  in  any  future 
vacancy — There  is  something  attractive  in  the  idea  but  I 
know  by  experience  that  personal  motives  do  little  for  men 
in  business  in  the  long  run  &  I  am  not  qualified  well  for 
minute  economy  or  minute  attention — It  was  proposed  I 
should  associate  myself  with  some  one  who  should  understand 
&  transact  the  minutia  but  such  dependency  is  dangerous — 
Thinking,  however  on  the  subject — Your  pupil  Lyman  Foot 
came  into  my  mind  as  one  with  whom  such  a  connection  might 
be  safe  &  in  some  respects  advantageous  should  it  so  fall  out 
as  to  be  desirable  to  both — I  cannot  aver  however  that  I 
have  any  very  serious  inclination  for  the  plan  but  mention 
it  to  you  that  you  may  say  what  occurs  to  you  in  any  moment 
of  leisure — 

With  the  kindest  salutation  to  you  &  yours  &  begging 
pardon  for  this  hasty  scrawl — 

I  remain  your  faithful  friend 

1817  ROB*  HARE." 

In  some  unrecorded  way  Hare  was  interrupted  in  his 
wanderings  and  placed  in  a  teaching  position  in  the  College 
of  William  and  Mary,  Virginia.  The  minutes  of  that  insti- 
tution bear  record  that  "  Dr.  Robert  Hare  appeared  before 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  55 

the  Faculty  and  qualified  as  professor  of  Natural  Philosophy 
and  Chemistry,  February  25,  1818.  He  attended  several 
faculty  meetings,  March  14  being  his  last,  after  which  his 
name  does  not  appear  in  the  record.  During  this  short  in- 
terval from  February  25  to  March  14,  he  appears  to  have 
gotten  into  trouble  with  the  students,  attending  his  lectures, 
by  charging  a  fee,  which  they  condemned.  The  Faculty  up- 
held Dr.  Hare,  and  upwards  of  twenty-five  were  dismissed." 
These  facts  were  recently  (May  4,  1916)  communicated 
by  President  Tyler  of  the  College  of  William  and  Mary  to 
the  writer.  He  in  turn  submits  with  much  pleasure  the  fol- 
lowing testimonials  from  persons  conversant  with  Dr.  Hare's 
brief  career  in  the  Virginia  College. 

"  Having  been  a  regular  attendant  on  the  Chymical 
Lectures  of  Dr.  Hare  this  spring,  I  am  enabled  to  say,  that 
speaking  extempore  with  little  time  for  preparation,  he  has 
satisfactorily  explained  the  principles  of  Chymistry,  and 
illustrated  them  by  a  great  number  of  experiments,  in  the 
exhibition  of  which  he  has  been  very  successful,  and  discov- 
ered much  ingenuity  and  manual  dexterity. 

As  a  lecturer,  Dr.  Hare  possesses  advantages  which  de- 
serve particular  notice.  From  his  great  experience  in  Chym- 
ical pursuits,  he  has  never  appeared  to  be  at  a  loss  in  ex- 
pounding the  most  difficult  phenomena  which  the  science 
presents;  and  by  the  force  of  a  talent  which  seems  peculiar 
to  himself,  he  is  enabled  to  attract  and  rivet  the  attention 
in  discussing  the  most  ordinary  and  familiar  topicks.  His 
success  in  the  manipulations,  in  my  opinion,  is  not  owing 
more  to  the  care  with  which  he  selects  his  agents,  than  to  the 
mechanical  skill  with  which  he  prepares  his  apparatus,  or 
supplies  it  entirely  where  it  is  found  wanting. 

In  fine,  Dr.  Hare  is  most  enthusiastically  devoted  to 
his  profession,  and  it  is  obvious  to  all  who  attend  to  the  char- 
acter of  his  pursuits  when  not  engaged  in  the  exercises  of 


56  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

the  College,  that  he  possesses  a  genuine  love  for  philosophical 
inquiry,  and  that  he  regards  science  almost  exclusively  as  the 
business  of  his  life.  FEBDINAND  S.  CAMPBELL." 

Williamsburgh,  20th  May,  1818." 

"  I  have  attended  many  of  the  Lectures  of  Dr.  Hare,  dur- 
ing the  course,  in  the  College  of  William  and  Mary,  and 
found  his  experiments,  and  the  explanation  of  them  very 
satisfactory.  I  remember  no  instance  in  which  his  experi- 
ments  did  not  succeed.  ROBERT  NELSON/> 

Williamsburgh,  23d  May,  1818." 

"  I  take  great  pleasure  in  stating,  that  in  the  course  of 
Lectures  which  you  have  delivered  here  on  Chymistry,  you 
have  evinced,  as  far  as  I  am  able  to  judge,  great  acquire- 
ments in  that  science,  and  have  certainly  used  exertions  almost 
unparalleled,  amidst  difficulties  the  most  perplexing  and 
harassing.  Very  respectfully,  ^ 

Your  obedient  servant, 

J.  AUG.  SMITH." 
William  and  Mary  College,  May  20,  1818." 

"  We  whose  names  are  hereunto  subscribed,  do  certify 
upon  a  review  of  the  course  of  Chymical  Lectures  delivered 
by  Dr.  Hare,  during  the  present  session  in  this  institution, 
that  he  has  explained  the  principles  of  Chymistry  to  his  class, 
with  perspicuity  and  ability,  and  well  adapted  for  the  pur- 
pose of  elucidating  the  subject  for  which  they  were  intro- 
duced. We  moreover  acknowledge,  and  take  this  mode  of 
expressing  our  thanks,  that  we  are  indebted  to  him,  not  only 
for  the  fidelity  with  which  he  has  discharged  his  duties  in 
the  lecture  room,  but  more  especially  for  his  laborious  and 
unparalleled  exertions  which  he  made  for  the  class  in  the 
laboratory,  in  renovating  and  preparing  the  apparatus  so  as 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  57 

to  ensure  as  far  as  possible  the  success  of  the  experiments  and 
to  enlarge  their  sphere. 

Signed,  etc. 

Fifty  Students." 
Williamsburgh,  June  2d,  1818." 

"  We  the  undersigned  members  of  Dr.  Hare's  classes, 
understanding  that  a  report  has  reached  Philadelphia,  and 
is  there  circulated,  in  which  it  is  stated,  that  Dr.  Hare  is 
disliked  by,  and  is  unpopular  with  those  who  attend  his 
Lectures,  take  this  means  of  rectifying  any  evil  impressions, 
which  such  report  may  have  caused,  and  of  testifying  our 
respect  and  esteem  for  him  as  a  gentleman,  and  the  high 
opinion  we  entertain  of  his  abilities  as  a  professor. 

June  17th,  1818."  Si^ed'  etc'" 

Turning  for  a  moment  from  these  expressions  of  Hare's 
skill  and  ability  be  it  said  that  in  1818  John  Redman  Coxe 
resigned  his  chair  of  chemistry  in  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Immediately  numerous  candidates  for  it  appeared, 
bringing  most  powerful  influence  to  bear  upon  the  Trustees. 
Here  is  not  the  place  to  review  the  acts  of  the  clashing  in- 
terests. Since  then  one  hundred  years  have  passed  and  one's 
judgment  now  is  surely  disinterested  enough  to  declare  that 
the  medical  faculty  seemed  bent  upon  objecting  to  any  one 
not  trained  in  a  medical  school  and  not  holding  the  medical 
doctorate.  Not  a  word  derogatory  of  Hare's  character  or 
ability  as  a  chemist  was  uttered  by  his  opponents.  However, 
said  they,  not  having  been  medically  trained  he  was  unfit. 
Some  of  the  candidates  had  done  absolutely  nothing  in  chem- 
istry. Their  supporters  argued  that  chemistry  was  a  sub- 
ject which  could  quite  easily  be  acquired  from  text-books— 
at  least,  sufficient  of  it  to  qualify  them  for  their  medical 
pursuits. 

Among   the   many    applicants    for    consideration    was 


58  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

Thomas  Cooper — a  most  remarkable  character  who  had  come* 
out  from  England  with  Priestley.     Those  who  have  followed 
his  career  will  read  his  petition  to  the  Trustees  with  keen 
interest  and  zest. 

"August  4  1818 
"  To  the  Trustees  of  the 

University  of  Pennsylvania 
"  Gentlemen, 

There  being  a  vacancy  in  the  chemical  chair  of  this  Uni- 
versity, I  beg  leave  to  be  considered  as  a  candidate:  and  as 
the  other  candidates  exhibit  to  the  Trustees  their  claims  to 
the  appointment,  it  seems  proper  that  I  should  communicate 
mine. 

It  is  well  known  to  the  members  who  compose  the  board 
of  Trustees,  that  I  have  long  been  devoted  to  the  study  and 
pursuit  of  chemistry.  For  seven  years  past,  I  have  been  a 
public  lecturer  in  chemistry;  and  I  may  fairly  presume  that 
my  reputation  in  that  character,  was  the  chief  reason  for 
appointing  me  to  the  professorship  I  now  hold  in  the  Faculty 
of  Arts  in  this  University;  and  that  I  stand  in  no  need  of 
testimonials  from  persons  of  less  experience  than  myself. 

I  have  also  a  right  to  say,  that  I  have  laboured  more  to 
promote  chemical  science  in  this  country  than  any  other 
man  in  it,  having  been  a  longer  time  devoted  to  this  study, 
not  only  as  a  lecturer,  but  an  author.  As  the  Trustees  have 
done  me  the  honour  to  accept  eight  volumes  in  8vo.  of  my 
chemical  publications,  they  have  the  means  of  judging  of  my 
deserts  in  this  respect. 

I  find  from  a  collection  of  certificates  and  testimonials 
published  by  Mr.  Robert  Hare,  that  Dr.  Chapman  was  of 
opinion  in  his  case,  that  it  was  by  no  means  necessary  for  a 
professor  of  chemistry  in  the  faculty  of  medicine,  to  be  also  a 
regular  Physician;  it  appearing  from  Dr.  Chapman's  state- 
ment, that  Davy  of  London,  Murray  of  Edinburgh,  and 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  59 

Vauquelin  of  Paris,  had  not  studied  or  graduated  as  Phys- 
icians. If  not  necessary,  however,  it  is  highly  expedient, 
that  your  chemical  professor  should  be  not  only  a  Doctor 
in  medicine  nominally,  without  practice,  but  also  a  Physician 
by  practice,  inasmuch  as  it  is  his  duty  to  pass  upon  the 
qualifications  of  students  who  apply  for  medical  degrees. 
Whether  the  other  candidates  are  practising  physicians,  must 
be  known  to  the  Board:  my  own  claims  to  that  title  are  as 
follow : 

In  London,  I  attended  the  Anatomical  Lectures  of  Mr. 
Sheldon  of  Great  Queen  Street.  I  attended  also  a  clinical 
course  at  the  Middlesex  Hospital.  I  attended  at  my  leisure 
hours,  the  patients  of  Dr.  Feriar  of  Manchester  under  his 
direction.  I  have  practised  openly  and  avowedly  as  a 
Physician  in  this  country,  for  a  longer  time  than  any  present 
member  of  the  Medical  Faculty  of  this  University. 

I  exhibited  to  many  of  the  Trustees  on  a  former  applica- 
tion, after  the  death  of  Dr.  Barton,  the  testimonials  of  Judge 
Walker,  of  Judge  Brackenridge,  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Campbell 
of  Carlisle,  of  Dr.  Armstrong  and  Dr.  Gustine  of  the  same 
place,  that  I  have  continuedly  practised  as  a  physician,  regu- 
larly and  repeatedly  employed  in  their  families.  Those 
written  testimonies  employed  in  my  behalf,  on  that  occasion, 
are  now  dispersed  and  mislaid.  But  I  may  appeal  to  Judge 
Duncan  for  my  having  practised  regularly  as  a  physician 
in  the  county  of  Northumberland,  uniformly  called  in  by  the 
resident  physicians  there,  for  twenty  years  past,  at  every  con- 
sultation: in  particular,  that  I  have  repeatedly  attended  his 
sister,  and  her  family,  the  wife  of  Judge  Walker,  and  been 
repeatedly  consulted  by  him,  by  letter,  since  we  have  resided 
at  different  places.  I  appeal  to  Judge  Duncan  and  Judge 
Gibson  for  full  and  satisfactory  testimony,  that  at  Carlisle 
I  was  regularly  called  in  upon  every  occasion  of  difficulty  by 
the  Physicians  of  that  place.  That  I  have  repeatedly  attended 


60  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

in  that  capacity  the  families  of  those  two  Judges,  and  of 
Judge  Brackenridge ;  and  that  Dr.  Armstrong,  Dr.  Gustine, 
and  Dr.  Foulke,  of  Carlisle,  each  of  them  confided  their 
wives  when  sick  to  my  medical  direction.  I  name  these 
gentlemen  (Judge  Duncan  and  Judge  Gibson)  because  I 
know  that  some  of  the  Trustees  have  applied  to  them,  to 
ascertain  the  truth  of  this  general  statement;  and  I  have 
appealed  to  their  testimony  as  to  these  points,  while  they 
were  in  the  city:  and  without  any  knowledge  of  the  answers 
they  may  have  given,  I  rest  upon  the  evidence  they  have 
afforded  in  reply  to  such  enquiries:  and  as  those  gentlemen 
are  here  so  frequently,  and  so  many  opportunities  occur  to  the 
members  of  this  Board  who  are  also  members  of  the  Bar,  to 
verify  this  statement,  I  make  it  in  full  confidence  of  the  result. 

Having  successfully  attended  the  Rev.  Mr.  Campbell 
to  whose  episcopal  congregation  I  belonged,  in  a  long  and 
dangerous  illness — and  as  I  am  informed  by  him  that  he 
had  written  on  a  former  occasion  to  a  reverend  gentleman, 
a  Trustee  of  this  University,  on  the  subject  of  my  general 
character  there,  as  well  as  my  medical  talents,  I  refer  to 
that  letter  in  support  of  this  statement;  not  thinking  it 
necessary  to  multiply  proofs  of  the  good  opinion  of  my 
friends.  I  may  also  mention,  that  to  some  of  the  Trustees 
here,  it  is  known  (as  I  have  reason  to  believe)  that  the  notes 
and  letters  of  Dr.  Wistar  to  me  were  addressed  to  Dr.  Cooper : 
the  instances  I  had  preserved  to  this  style  of  direction,  are 
lost  with  my  other  documents  formerly  shewn.  I  have  also 
been  honoured  with  the  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  by  the 
University  of  New  York,  on  the  motion,  as  I  understand,  of 
Drs.  M'Nevin  and  Hossack,  gentlemen  sufficiently  compe- 
tent to  speak  of  my  title  to  the  distinction  thus  conferred. 

And  finally,  at  their  last  session,  the  Medical  Society 
of  this  city,  without  my  knowledge  appointed  me  to  deliver 
the  annual  report  of  the  progress  of  Materia  Medica  for  the 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  61 

past  year:  which  I  did,  as  I  have  reason  to  believe,  to  the  full 
satisfaction  of  that  body. 

In  one  respect  only,  it  may  be  argued  that  I  am  not  a 
regular  Physician ;  though  my  education,  my  course  of  read- 
ing and  study,  and  long  practice,  entitle  me  to  that  char- 
acter, as  fully  as  any  other  medical  gentleman  of  this  city. 
Having,  at  the  direction  of  my  father,  pursued  the  study  of 
the  Law  as  my  Profession,  I  have  always  deemed  it  improper 
to  take  fees  for  my  attendance  as  a  Physician,  and  to  act 
for  profit  in  a  double  capacity.  Judge  Walker  could  speak 
to  this  point  from  his  own  knowledge,  having  experienced 
and  known  my  repeated  refusals  in  his  own  case  as  well  as 
others  for  at  least  twenty  years  past. 

I  therefore  have  a  just  right  to  be  considered  as  a  Phys- 
ician, not  only  by  formal  title  honourably  acquired,  but  by  a 
regular  course  of  study,  by  long  experience,  and  extensive 
practice;  and  the  objection  formerly  made  to  Mr.  Hare  in 
this  respect,  did  not  then,  and  does  not  now  apply  to  me. 
My  short  residence  in  Philadelphia  renders  this  necessary. 

Should  I  succeed  in  this  Application  for  the  vacant  Chair 
of  Chemistry,  I  shall  endeavour  to  justify  the  preference  so 
given  in  my  favour,  by  assiduity  in  pursuit  of  the  duties  of 
my  department. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be, 

Gentlemen, 

Your  obedient  servant, 
THOMAS  COOPER,  M.D. 
282  Chestnut  Street." 

The  Trustees,  however,  had  taken  particular  care  to  in- 
form themselves  as  to  the  real  qualifications  of  the  gentle- 
men who  offered  themselves  for  this  most  important  post 
and  wisely  selected  that  one  whose  labors  live  to-day,  while 
most  of  his  rivals  and  their  works  have  passed  into  oblivion. 

It  must  have  been  a  happy  moment  when  Robert  Hare 
indited  the  following  note  of  acceptance  to  the  Board: 


62  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

"Dear  Sir:  «  Sep*  ff-  1818 

I  have  rec'd  your  letter  enclosing  a  copy  of  part  of  the 
minutes  of  the  Trustees  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
by  which  it  appears  that  I  am  appointed  by  them  professor 
of  chemistry  in  the  medical  department  of  that  Institution. 
In  reply  I  beg  leave  through  you  to  inform  them  of  my  grate- 
ful acceptance  of  this  appointment. 

Tendering  you  my  acknowledgments  for  your  kind 
congratulations  I  am  Sir 

With  sincere  regard 

Very  truly  yours 
Ewd  Fox  Esqr "  ROB*  HARE." 

The  friends  of  Hare  were,  indeed,  happy  over  his  success. 
They  knew  him  and  his  absolute  fitness  for  the  position  and 
were  particularly  glad  that  he  was  now  to  have  the  oppor- 
tunity of  exercising  his  splendid  talents.  Throughout  this 
country  there  was  deep  satisfaction. 

Harvard  in  1816  had  expressed  its  high  regard  for  Hare's 
achievements  by  the  bestowal  of  the  Medical  doctorate  upon 
him. 

Another  striking  incident  was  that  after  Hare  had  been 
honored  with  election  to  the  chair,  Dr.  Cooper  promptly 
delivered  himself  of  an  address,  November  o,  1818,  to  the 
Medical  Faculty  on  the  connection  of  medicine  and  chemistry. 
The  following  quotations  are  characteristic: 

"  During  the  late  discussion  previous  to  the  election  of 
Dr.  Hare  to  the  Chair  of  Chemistry  in  the  Faculty  of  Medi- 
cine of  this  University,  two  opinions  appear  to  have  been 
advanced  by  the  medical  faculty:  1st.  That  the  Chair  of 
Chemistry  ought  not,  or  at  least  need  not,  be  filled  by  a 
medical  character;  because  the  chair  of  chemistry  was  not 
necessary  to,  and  ought  to  be  separated  from,  the  faculty  of 
medicine  "  .  .  .  "  This  appears  to  have  been  the  general 


FIRST  PERIOD,  1781-1818  63 

sentiment  of  the  medical  faculty  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania; for  having  applied  to  Dr.  Hare,  they  persuaded 
him  to  relinquish  his  privilege  and  his  duty,  of  passing  upon 
the  qualifications  of  the  medical  students  when  they  came 
forward  to  be  examined  for  a  degree,  and  of  signing  their 
diplomas;  confining  himself  simply  to  the  examination  of 
the  students  —  in  chemistry  only  —  the  rest  of  the  faculty, 
reserving  to  themselves  the  exclusive  right  of  deciding  upon 
the  result  of  such  examination,  which  was  to  take  place  in 
their  presence.  To  this  proposal  it  was  understood,  and 
indeed  announced,  that  Dr.  Hare  had  assented.  Whether 
the  Trustees  of  the  Institution  will  assent  to  it  also,  time 
only  can  shew. 

This  general  opinion  of  the  inutility  of  chemistry  to 
medicine  was  not  confined  to  the  medical  faculty  in  the 
University."  .  ,  . 

"  In  this  state  of  things,  I  deemed  it  an  allowable  use  of 
my  situation  as  Professor  of  chemistry  in  the  Faculty  of  the 
Arts,  to  shew,  that  there  is  a  connexion  between  medicine 
and  chemistry,  and  to  trace  an  outline  of  that  connexion.  It 
appeared  to  me,  that  heresy  in  question  ought  to  be  corn- 
batted  by  some  one,  and  I  found  no  one  likely  to  do  it,  if  I 
did  not." 

The  next  letter  was  surely  written  in  Philadelphia  —  in 
the  old  home  —  to  which  Hare  had  returned  for  the  purpose  of 
assuming  at  last  the  responsible  duties  of  the  Chair  of  Chem- 
istry in  the  Medical  School  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. In  his  mind  were  floating  problems  to  which  he  must 
have  felt  he  could  now  give  his  best  effort.  He  was  eager 
for  the  fray. 

_  "  Sep1  11th,  1818. 


I  forgot  to  put  you  in  mind  of  the  kelp  which  was  to  be 
sent  you  by  Guy  Lussac  &  of  which  you  were  to  let  me  have 
some  —  Your  f1 

ROB'  HARE." 


64  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

"  You  will  probably  soon  be  on  a  visit  to  New  York —  If 
so  let  me  hear  of  it — I  wrote  to  Mr.  Whitney  for  some  gun 
barrels  etc.  but  have  no  answer.  Is  (he)  at  New  Haven? 
Should  you  see  him  ask  if  he  got  my  letter — 

Have  you  varied  your  mode  of  obtaining  potassium? 
Have  you  tried  Tenants  plan? 

I  should  like  to  have  a  furnace  constructed  after  your 
plan  if  it  could  be  done  without  giving  yourself  trouble. 
You  mentioned  there  were  some  workmen  who  had  made 
yours  who  would  make  others  to  order — Please  therefore 
order  one  for  me  agreeably  to  your  own  fancy." 

It  is  difficult  to  separate  one's  self  from  this  part  of  Hare's 
life  without  giving  expression  to  a  few  thoughts.  All  inter- 
ested in  research  and  possessed  of  the  spirit  of  this  master 
will  certainly  feel  that  it  was  a  supreme  moment  to  him.  He 
was  now  thirty-seven  years  old.  At  twenty  he  had  arrested 
the  world's  attention  by  his  discovery  of  the  compound  blow- 
pipe and  its  concomitants.  Compelled  by  circumstances  to 
give  himself  to  a  manufacturing  business — meant  almost 
complete  divorcement  from  his  scientific  work;  but  recall 
how,  despite  the  strain  upon  him,  he  improved  the  blowpipe, 
and  read,  thought  and  advised  with  his  faithful  friend,  Silli- 
man,  upon  other  attractive  problems.  He  was  familiar  with 
the  advances  of  European  chemists  and  must  have  chafed 
under  his  restraint,  but  at  no  time  is  any  impatience  dis- 
played; on  the  contrary,  there  was  a  quiet  waiting  for  the 
day  of  freedom,  when  he  could  more  completely  follow  his 
specialty.  That  time  had  now  arrived  and  it  is  easy  to 
imagine  his  eagerness  to  begin  and  set  in  order  his  workshop. 

Had  Hare  made  no  other  contribution  to  science  than 
that  involved  in  the  oxyhydrogen  flame,  he  would  be  worthy 
of  highest  praise.  But  he  did  vastly  more  and  we  will  now 
follow  him  through  a  long  period  of  brilliant  experimenta- 
tion with  the  certainty  of  coming  from  it  and  marvelling  at 
his  splendid  successes. 


SECOND  PERIOD 

1818-1847 

IN  Europe,  early  in  the  19th  Century,  Davy  isolated, 
with  the  help  of  voltaic  electricity,  sodium  and  potassium 
from  their  hydroxides ;  Dalton's  chemical  atomic  theory  was 
the  subject  of  constant  discussion;  Berzelius  announced  his 
electrochemical  doctrine  and  was  issuing  his  exhaustive  study 
of  atomic  and  molecular  weights,  while  in  1819  Du  Long  and 
Petit  printed  their  interesting  observations  on  atomic  heat. 

Robert  Hare  read  and  studied  the  current  scientific  liter- 
ature, and  he  was  conversant  with  all  these  discoveries,  and 
dwelt,  at  least  in  thought,  upon  them.  Hence,  the  influence 
which  they  exercised  upon  him  will  be  apparent  as  he  enters 
upon  his  new,  unembarrassed  period  of  experimentation. 
Hare  took  up  the  duties  of  his  chair  energetically  and  with 
great  enthusiasm,  and  before  long  important  communications 
were  coming  from  his  pen.  The  direction  of  his  research 
work  should  be  studied  and  followed  with  unusual  care,  for 
it  cannot  fail  to  interest  the  scientist.  In  letters  sent  by  him 
to  Silliman  there  are  indications  that  the  voltaic  current  had 
long  been  the  subject  under  his  consideration. 

In  Silliman's  comments  upon  James  Woodhouse  it  was 
mentioned  that  the  latter,  upon  his  return  from  England, 
brought  with  him  a  Cruikshank  trough — a  modification  of 
the  voltaic  cell  or  pile, — and  that  possession  of  this  novelty 
added  to  the  repute  of  Woodhouse  among  his  contemporaries. 
This  trough,  no  doubt,  had  been  seen  by  both  Silliman  and 
Hare.  To  the  latter  it  appealed.  He  at  once  recognized  its 
superiority  over  the  original  of  Volta.  Then,  too,  the  myste- 
rious current  was  to  him  a  constant  source  of  interest,  so  that 
inquiries,  on  his  part,  followed  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  re- 

5  65 


66  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

markable  achievements  made  possible  by  electricity  had  in- 
spired him  to  give  time  and  thought  to  its  further  application. 
Cognizant  of  the  sources  of  the  "  subtile  agent  "  and  prob- 
ably conscious  of  their  several  defects  he  offered  promptly, 
upon  the  assumption  of  his  professorial  duties  in  1818,  a  new 
theory  of  galvanism  with  a  description  of  the  calorimotor,  a 
new  galvanic  instrument.  This  contribution,  now  a  century 
old,  must  have  been  the  consequence  of  much  quiet  study  and 
labor  in  the  years  when  business  so  completely  absorbed  his 
time.  It  is  such  a  splendid  document  and  the  catorimotor 
marks  such  a  decided  epoch  in  electro-chemistry  that  it  seems 
best  to  let  the  distinguished  experimenter  speak  for  himself: 

"  I  have  for  some  time  been  of  opinion  that  the  principle 
extricated  by  the  Voltaic  pile  is  a  compound  of  caloric  and 
electricity,  both  being  original  and  collateral  products  of 
Galvanic  action. 

It  is  well  known  that  heat  is  liberated  by  the  Voltaic  ap- 
paratus, in  a  manner  and  degree  which  has  not  been  imitated 
by  means  of  mechanical  electricity ;  and  that  the  latter,  while 
it  strikes  at  a  greater  distance,  and  pervades  conductors  with 
much  greater  speed,  can  with  difficulty  be  made  to  effect  the 
slightest  decompositions.  Wollaston,  it  is  true,  decomposed 
water  by  means  of  it ;  but  the  experiment  was  performed  of 
necessity  on  a  scale  too  minute  to  permit  of  his  ascertaining 
whether  there  were  any  divellent  polar  attractions  exercised 
towards  the  atoms,  as  in  the  case  of  the  pile.  The  result  was 
probably  caused  by  mechanical  concussion,  or  that  process 
by  which  the  particles  of  matter  are  dispersed  when  a  battery 
is  discharged  through  them.  The  opinion  of  Dr.  Thomson, 
that  the  fluid  of  the  pile  is  in  quantity  greater,  in  intensity 
less,  than  that  evolved  by  the  machine,  is  very  inconsistent 
with  the  experiments  of  the  chemist  above  mentioned,  who 
before  he  could  effect  the  separation  of  the  elements  of  water 
by  mechanical  electricity,  was  obliged  to  confine  its  emission 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  67 

to  a  point  imperceptible  to  the  naked  eye.  If  already  so 
highly  intense,  wherefore  the  necessity  of  a  further  concen- 
tration. Besides,  were  the  distinction  made  by  Dr.  Thomson 
correct,  the  more  concentrated  fluid  generated  by  a  galvanic 
apparatus  of  a  great  many  small  pairs,  ought  most  to  re- 
semble that  of  the  ordinary  electricity;  but  the  opposite  is 
the  case.  The  ignition  produced  by  a  few  large  Galvanic 
plates,  where  the  intensity  is  of  course  low,  is  a  result  most 
analogous  to  the  chemical  effects  of  a  common  electrical  bat- 
tery. According  to  my  view,  caloric  and  electricity  may  be 
distinguished  by  the  following  characteristics.  The  former 
permeates  all  matter  more  or  less,  though  with  very  different 
degrees  of  facility.  It  radiates  through  air,  with  immeasur- 
able celerity,  and  distributing  itself  in  the  interior  of  bodies, 
communicates  a  reciprocally  repellent  power  to  atoms,  but 
not  to  masses.  Electricity  does  not  radiate  in  or  through 
any  matter;  and  while  it  pervades  some  bodies,  as  metals, 
with  almost  infinite  velocity;  by  others,  it  is  so  far  from 
being  conducted,  that  it  can  only  pass  through  them  by  a 
fracture  or  perforation.  Distributing  itself  over  surfaces 
only,  it  causes  repulsion  between  masses,  but  not  between 
the  particles  of  the  same  mass.  The  disposition  of  the  last- 
mentioned  principle  to  get  off  by  neighbouring  conductors, 
and  of  the  other  to  combine  with  the  adjoining  matter,  or  to 
escape  by  radiation,  would  prevent  them  from  being  collected 
at  the  positive  pole,  if  not  in  combination  with  each  other. 
Were  it  not  for  a  modification  of  their  properties,  consequent 
to  some  such  union,  they  could  not,  in  piles  of  thousands  of 
pairs,  be  carried  forward  through  the  open  air  and  moisture ; 
the  one  so  well  calculated  to  conduct  away  electricity,  the 
other  so  favourable  to  the  radiation  of  caloric. 

Pure  electricity  does  not  expand  the  slips  of  gold-leaf, 
between  which  it  causes  repulsion,  nor  does  caloric  cause  any 
repulsion  in  the  ignited  masses  which  it  expands.  But  as  the 


68  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

compound  fluid  extricated  by  Galvanic  action,  which  I  shall 
call  electro-caloric,  distributes  itself  through  the  interior  of 
bodies,  and  is  evidently  productive  of  corpuscular  repulsion, 
it  is  in  this  respect  more  allied  to  caloric  than  to  electricity. 

It  is  true,  that  when  common  electricity  causes  the  de- 
flagration of  metals,  as  by  the  discharge  of  a  Ley  den  jar,  it 
must  be  supposed  to  insinuate  itself  within  them,  and  cause 
a  reaction  between  their  particles,  but  in  this  case,  agree- 
able to  my  hypothesis,  the  electric  fluid  combines  with  the 
patent  caloric  previously  existing  there,  and,  adding  to  its 
repulsive  agency,  causes  it  to  overpower  cohesion.1 

Sir  Humphry  Davy  was  so  much  at  a  loss  to  account  for 
the  continued  ignition  of  wire  at  the  poles  of  a  Voltaic  appa- 
ratus, that  he  considers  it  an  objection  to  the  materiality  of 
heat ;  since  the  wire  could  not  be  imagined  to  contain  sufficient 
caloric  to  keep  up  the  emission  of  this  principle  for  an  unlim- 
ited time  .  .  .  But  if  we  conceive  an  accumulation  of  heat 
to  accompany  that  of  electricity  throughout  the  series,  and 
to  be  propagated  from  one  end  to  the  other,  the  explanation 
of  the  phenomenon  in  question  is  attended  by  no  difficulty. 

The  effect  of  the  Galvanic  fluid  on  charcoal  is  very  con- 
sistent with  my  views,  since  next  to  metals,  it  is  one  of  the 
best  conductors  of  electricity,  and  the  worst  of  heat,  and 
would  therefore  arrest  the  last,  and  allow  the  other  to  pass 
on.  Though  peculiarly  liable  to  intense  ignition,  when  ex- 
posed between  the  poles  of  the  Voltaic  apparatus,  it  seems 
to  me  it  does  not  display  this  characteristic  with  common 
electricity.  According  to  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  when  in  con- 
nexion with  the  positive  pole  the  latter  is  less  heated  than 

1  Possibly  the  electric  fluid  causes  decompositions  when  emitted 
from  an  impalpable  point  (as  in  the  experiments  of  Wollaston)  be- 
cause its  repulsive  agency  is  concentrated  between  integral  atoms,  in  a 
mode  analogous  to  that  here  referred  to;  a  filament  of  water  in  the 
one  case,  and  of  wire  in  the  other,  being  the  medium  of  discharge. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  69 

when,  with  respect  to  the  poles,  the  situation  of  the  wire  and 
charcoal  is  reversed.  The  rationale  is  obvious:  Charcoal, 
being  a  bad  conductor,  and  a  good  radiator,  prevents  the 
greater  part  of  the  heat  from  reaching  the  platina,  when 
placed  between  it  and  the  source  whence  the  heat  flows." 

"  I  had  observed  that  as  the  number  of  pairs  in  Volta's 
pile  had  been  extended,  and  their  size  and  the  energy  of  the 
interposed  agents  lessened,  the  ratio  of  the  electrical  effects 
to  those  of  heat  had  increased;  till  in  DeLuc's  column  they 
had  become  completely  predominant ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
when  the  pairs  were  made  larger  and  fewer  (as  in  Children's 
apparatus)  the  calorific  influence  had  gained  the  ascendency. 
I  was  led  to  go  farther  in  this  way,  and  to  examine  whether  one 
pair  of  plates  of  enormous  size,  or  what  might  be  equivalent 
thereto,  would  not  exhibit  heat  more  purely,  and  demonstrate 
it,  equally  with  the  electric  fluid,  a  primary  product  of  GaL» 
vanic  combinations.  The  elementary  battery  of  Wollaston, 
though  productive  of  an  evanescent  ignition,  was  too  minute 
to  allow  him  to  make  the  observations  which  I  had  in  view. 

Twenty  copper  and  twenty  zinc  plates,  about  nineteen 
inches  square,  were  supported  vertically  in  a  frame,  the 
different  metals  alternating  at  one  half  inch  distance  from 
each  other.  All  the  plates  of  the  same  kind  of  metal  were 
soldered  to  a  common  slip,  so  that  each  set  of  homogeneous 
plates  formed  one  continuous  metallic  superficies.  When 
the  copper  and  zinc  surfaces,  thus  formed,  are  united  by  an 
intervening  wire,  and  the  whole  immersed  in  an  acid,  or 
acetosaline  solution,  in  a  vessel  devoid  of  partitions,  the  wire 
becomes  intensely  ignited;  and  when  hydrogen  is  liberated  it 
usually  takes  fire,  producing  a  very  beautiful  undulating,  or 
corruscating  flame. 

I  am  confident,  that  if  Volta  and  the  other  investigators  of 
Galvanism,  instead  of  multiplying  the  pairs  of  Galvanic 
plates,  had  sought  to  increase  the  effect  by  enlarging  one 


70  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

pair  as  I  have  done,  (for  I  consider  the  copper  and  zinc 
surfaces  as  reduced  to  two  by  the  connexion)  the  apparatus 
would  have  been  considered  as  presenting  a  new  mode  of 
evolving  heat,  as  a  primary  effect  independently  of  electrical 
influence.  There  is  no  other  indication  of  electricity  when 
wires  from  the  two  surfaces  touch  the  tongue,  than  a  slight 
taste,  such  as  is  excited  by  small  pieces  of  zinc  and  silver  laid 
on  it  and  under  it,  and  brought  into  contact  with  each  other. 

It  was  with  a  view  of  examining  the  effects  of  the  prox- 
imity and  alteration  in  the  heterogeneous  plates  that  I  had 
them  cut  into  separate  squares.  By  having  them  thus  divided, 
I  have  been  enabled  to  ascertain  that  when  all  of  one  kind 
of  metal  are  ranged  on  one  side  of  the  frame,  and  all  of  the 
other  kind  on  the  other  side  of  it,  the  effect  is  no  greater 
than  might  be  expected  from  one  pair  of  plates. 

Volta,  considering  the  changes  consequent  to  his  con- 
trivance as  the  effect  of  a  movement  in  the  electric  fluid, 
called  the  process  electro-motion,  and  the  plates  producing 
it  electromotors.  But  the  phenomena  show  that  the  plates, 
as  I  have  arranged  them,  are  calori-motors,  or  heat  movers, 
and  the  effect  calori-motion.  That  this  is  a  new  view  of  the 
subject,  may  be  inferred  from  the  following  passage  in 
Davy's  Elements.  That  great  chemist  observes,  c  When 
very  small  conducting  surfaces  are  used  for  conveying  very 
large  quantities  of  electricity,  they  become  ignited;  and  of 
the  different  conductors  that  have  been  compared,  charcoal 
is  most  easily  heated  by  electrical  discharges,  next  iron, 
platina,  gold,  then  copper,  and  lastly,  zinc.  The  phenomena 
of  electrical  ignition,  whether  taking  place  in  gaseous,  fluid, 
or  solid  bodies,  always  seem  to  be  the  results  of  a  violent 
exertion  of  the  electrical  attractive  and  repellent  powers, 
which  may  be  connected  with  motions  of  the  particles  of  the 
substances  affected.  That  no  subtile  fluid,  such  as  the  matter 
of  heat  has  been  imagined  to  be,  can  be  discharged  from 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  71 

these  substances,  in  consequence  of  the  effect  of  the  electricity, 
seems  probable,  from  the  circumstances,  that  a  wire  of  platina 
may  be  preserved  in  a  state  of  intense  ignition  in  vacuo,  by 
means  of  the  Voltaic  apparatus,  for  an  unlimited  time;  and 
such  a  wire  cannot  be  supposed  to  contain  an  inexhaustible 
quantity  of  subtile  matter.' 

But  I  demand  where  are  the  repellent  and  attractive 
powers  to  which  the  ignition  produced  by  the  Calorimotor 
can  be  attributed?  Besides,  I  would  beg  leave  respectfully 
to  inquire  of  this  illustrious  author,  whence  the  necessity  of 
considering  the  heat  evolved  under  the  circumstances  alluded 
to  as  the  effect  of  the  electrical  fluid;  or  why  we  may  not  as 
well  suppose  the  latter  to  be  excited  by  the  heat?  It  is  evi- 
dent, as  he  observes,  that  a  wire  cannot  be  supposed  to  con- 
tain an  inexhaustible  supply  of  matter  however  subtile;  but 
wherefore  may  not  one  kind  of  subtile  matter  be  supplied  to 
it  from  the  apparatus  as  well  as  another;  especially,  when 
to  suppose  such  a  supply  is  quite  as  inconsistent  with  the 
characteristics  of  pure  electricity,  as  with  those  of  pure 
caloric?  .  .  „  * 

For  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  necessity  of  the  alter- 
nation and  proximity  of  the  copper  and  zinc  plates,  it  has 
been  mentioned  that  distinct  square  sheets  were  employed. 
The  experiments  have  since  been  repeated  and  found  to 
succeed  by  Dr.  Patterson  and  Mr.  Lukens,  by  means  of  two 
continuous  sheets,  one  of  zinc,  the  other  of  copper,  wound 
into  two  concentric  coils  or  spirals.  This,  though  the  circum- 
stance was  not  known  to  them,  was  the  form  I  had  myself  pro- 
posed to  adopt,  and  had  suggested  as  convenient  for  a  Gal- 
vanic apparatus  to  several  friends  at  the  beginning  of  the 
winter ;  though  the  consideration  above  stated  induced  me  to 
prefer  for  a  first  experiment  a  more  manageable  arrangement. 

Since  writing  the  above,  I  find  that  when,  in  the  apparatus 
of  twenty  copper  and  twenty  zinc  plates,  ten  copper  plates 


72  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

on  one  side  are  connected  with  ten  zinc  on  the  other,  and  a 
communication  made  between  the  remaining  twenty  by  a  piece 
of  iron  wire,  about  the  eighth  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  the  wire 
enters  into  a  vivid  state  of  combustion  on  the  immersion  of 
the  plates.  Platina  wire  equal  to  No.  18  (the  largest  I  had 
at  hand)  is  rapidly  fused  if  substituted  for  the  iron. 

This  arrangement  is  equivalent  to  a  battery  of  two  large 
Galvanic  pairs ;  excepting  that  there  is  no  insulation,  all  the 
plates  being  plunged  in  one  vessel.  I  have  usually  separated 
the  pairs  by  a  board,  extending  across  the  frame  merely. 

Indeed,  when  the  forty  plates  were  successively  asso- 
ciated in  pairs,  of  copper  and  zinc,  though  suspended  in  a 
fluid  held  in  a  common  recipient  without  partitions;  there 
was  considerable  intensity  of  Galvanic  action.  This  shows 
that,  independently  of  any  power  of  conducing  electricity, 
there  is  some  movement  in  the  solvent  fluid  which  tends  to 
carry  forward  the  Galvanic  principle  from  the  copper  to 
the  zinc  end  of  the  series.  I  infer  that  electro-caloric  is 
communicated  in  this  case  by  circulation,  and  that  in  non- 
elastic  fluids  the  same  difficulty  exists  as  to  its  retrocession 
from  the  positive  to  the  negative  end  of  the  series,  as  is  found 
in  the  downward  passage  of  caloric  through  them. 

It  ought  to  be  mentioned,  that  the  connecting  wire  should 
be  placed  between  the  heterogeneous  surfaces  before  their 
immersion,  as  the  most  intense  ignition  takes  place  imme- 
diately afterward.  If  the  connexion  be  made  after  the  plates 
are  immersed,  the  effect  is  much  less  powerful;  and  some- 
times after  two  or  three  immersions  the  apparatus  loses  its 
power,  though  the  action  of  the  solvent  should  become  in 
the  interim  much  more  violent.  Without  any  change  in  the 
latter,  after  the  plates  have  been  for  some  time  suspended  in 
the  air,  they  regain  their  efficacy.  I  had  observed  in  a  Gal- 
vanic pile  of  three  hundred  pairs  of  two  inches  square,  a  like 
consequence  resulting  from  a  simultaneous  immersion  of 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  73 

the  whole.  The  bars  holding  the  plates  were  balanced  by 
weights,  as  window  sashes  are,  so  that  all  the  plates  could  be 
very  quickly  dipped.  A  platina  wire,  No.  18,  was  fused  into 
a  globule,  while  the  evolution  of  potassium  was  demonstrated 
by  a  rose-coloured  flame  arising  from  some  potash  which  had 
been  placed  between  the  poles.  The  heat  however  diminished 
in  a  few  seconds,  though  the  greater  extrication  of  hydrogen 
from  the  plates  indicated  a  more  intense  chemical  action. 

Agreeably  to  an  observation  of  Dr.  Patterson,  electrical 
excitement  may  be  detected  in  the  apparatus  by  the  condens- 
ing electroscope ;  but  this  is  no  more  than  what  Volta  observed 
to  be  the  consequence  of  the  contact  of  heterogeneous  metals. 

The  thinnest  piece  of  charcoal  intercepts  the  calorific 
agent,  whatever  it  may  be.  In  order  to  ascertain  this,  the 
inside  of  a  hollow  brass  cylinder,  having  the  internal  diameter 
two  inches,  and  the  outside  of  another  smaller  cylinder  of 
the  same  substance,  were  made  conical  and  correspondent,  so 
that  the  greater  would  contain  the  less,  and  leave  an  inter- 
stice of  about  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  between  them.  This 
interstice  was  filled  with  wood,  by  plugging  the  larger  cylin- 
der with  this  material,  and  excavating  the  plug  till  it  would 
permit  the  smaller  brass  cylinder  to  be  driven  in.  The  ex- 
cavation and  the  fitting  of  the  cylinders  was  performed  ac- 
curately by  means  of  a  turning  lathe.  The  wood  in  the 
interstice  was  then  charred  by  exposing  the  whole  covered 
by  sand  in  a  crucible  to  a  red  heat.  The  charcoal,  notwith- 
standing the  shrinkage  consequent  to  the  fire,  was  brought 
into  complete  contact  with  the  inclosing  metallic  surfaces  by 
pressing  the  interior  cylinder  further  into  the  exterior  one. 

Thus  prepared,  the  interior  cylinder  being  made  to  touch 
one  of  the  Galvanic  surfaces,  a  wire  brought  from  the  other 
Galvanic  surface  into  contact  with  the  outside  cylinder,  was 
not  affected  in  the  least,  though  the  slightest  touch  of  the  in- 
terior one  caused  ignition.  The  contact  of  the  charcoal  with 


74  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

the  containing  metals  probably  took  place  throughout  a  super- 
ficies of  four  square  inches,  and  the  wire  was  not  much  more 
than  the  hundredth  part  of  an  inch  thick,  so  that  unless  it 
were  to  conduct  electrical  about  forty  thousand  times  better 
than  the  charcoal,  it  ought  to  have  been  heated ;  if  the  calorific 
influence  of  this  apparatus  result  from  electrical  excitement. 

I  am  led  finally  to  suppose,  that  the  contact  of  dissimilar 
metals,  when  subjected  to  the  action  of  solvents,  causes  a 
movement  in  caloric  as  well  as  in  the  electric  fluid,  and  that 
the  phenomena  of  Galvanism,  the  unlimited  evolution  of  heat 
by  friction,  the  extrication  of  gaseous  matter  without  the 
production  of  cold,  might  be  all  explained  by  supposing  a 
combination  between  the  fluids  of  heat  and  electricity.  We 
find  scarcely  any  two  kinds  of  ponderable  matter  which  do 
not  exercise  more  or  less  affinity  towards  each  other.  More- 
over, imponderable  particles  are  supposed  highly  attractive 
of  ponderable  ones.  Why  then  should  we  not  infer  the  ex- 
istence of  similar  affinities  between  imponderable  particles 
reciprocally?  That  a  peculiar  combination  between  heat  and 
light  exists  in  the  solar  beams,  is  evident  from  their  not  im- 
parting warmth  to  a  lens  through  which  they  may  pass,  as  do 
those  of  our  culinary  fires. 

Under  this  view  of  the  case,  the  action  of  the  poles  in 
Galvanic  decomposition  is  one  of  complete  affinity.  The 
particles  of  compounds  are  attracted  to  the  different  wires 
agreeably  to  their  susceptibilities  to  the  positive  and  negative 
attraction,  and  the  caloric,  leaving  the  electric  fluid  with 
which  it  had  been  combined,  unites  with  them  at  the  moment 
that  their  electric  state  is  neutralized. 

As  an  exciting  fluid,  I  have  usually  employed  a  solution 
of  one  part  sulphuric  acid,  and  two  parts  muriate  of  soda 
with  seventy  of  water ;  but,  to  my  surprise,  I  have  produced 
nearly  a  white  heat  by  an  alkaline  solution  barely  sensible 
to  the  taste. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  75 

For  the  display  of  the  heat  effects,  the  addition  of  man- 
ganese, red  lead,  or  the  nitrates,  is  advantageous. 

The  rationale  is  obvious.  The  oxygen  of  these  substances 
prevents  the  liberation  of  the  gaseous  hydrogen,  which  would 
carry  off  the  caloric.  Adding  to  diluted  muriatic  acid,  while 
acting  on  zinc,  enough  red  lead  to  prevent  effervescence, 
the  temperature  rose  from  70  to  110  Fahrenheit. 

The  power  of  the  calorimotor  is  much  increased  by  hav- 
ing the  communication  between  the  different  sheets  formed 
by  very  large  strips  or  masses  of  metal.  Observing  this,  I 
rendered  the  sheets  of  copper  shorter  by  half  an  inch,  for  a 
distance  of  four  inches  of  their  edges,  where  the  communica- 
tion was  to  be  made  between  the  zinc  sheets ;  and,  vice  versa, 
the  zinc  was  made  in  the  same  way  shorter  than  the  copper 
sheets  where  these  were  to  communicate  with  each  other. 
The  edges  of  the  shortened  sheets  being  defended  by  strips 
of  wood,  tin  was  cast  on  the  intermediate  protruding  edges 
of  the  longer  ones,  so  as  to  embrace  a  portion  of  each  equal 
to  about  one  quarter  of  an  inch  by  four  inches.  On  one 
side,  the  tin  was  made  to  run  completely  across,  connecting 
at  the  same  time  ten  copper  and  ten  zinc  sheets.  On  the 
other  side  there  was  an  interstice  of  above  a  quarter  of  an 
inch  left  between  the  stratum  of  tin  embracing  the  copper, 
and  that  embracing  the  zinc  plates.  On  each  of  the  ap- 
proaching terminations  of  the  connecting  tin  strata  was 
soldered  a  kind  of  forceps,  formed  of  a  bent  piece  of  sheet 
brass,  furnished  with  a  screw  for  pressing  the  jaws  together. 
The  distance  between  the  different  forceps  was  about  two 
inches.  The  advantage  of  a  very  close  contact  was  made  very 
evident  by  the  action  of  the  screws;  the  relaxation  or  increase 
of  pressure  on  the  connecting  wire  by  turning  them  being  pro- 
ductive of  a  correspondent  change  in  the  intensity  of  ignition. 

It  now  remains  to  state,  that  by  means  of  iron  ignited 
in  this  apparatus,  a  fixed  alkali  may  be  decomposed  extern- 


76  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

poraneously.  If  a  connecting  iron  wire,  while  in  combustion, 
be  touched  by  the  hydrate  of  potash,  the  evolution  of  potas- 
sium is  demonstrated  by  a  rose-coloured  flame.  The  alkali 
may  be  applied  to  the  wire  in  small  pieces  in  a  flat  hook  of 
sheet  iron.  But  the  best  mode  of  application  is  by  means 
of  a  tray  made  by  doubling  a  slip  of  sheet  iron  at  the  ends, 
and  leaving  a  receptacle  in  the  centre,  in  which  the  potash 
may  be  placed  covered  with  filings.  This  tray  being  substi- 
tuted for  the  connecting  wire,  as  soon  as  the  immersion  of  the 
apparatus  causes  the  metal  to  burn,  the  rose-coloured  flame 
appears,  and  if  the  residuum  left  in  the  sheet  iron  be  after- 
ward thrown  into  water,  an  effervescence  sometimes  ensues. 

I  have  ascertained  that  an  iron  heated  to  combustion,  by 
a  blacksmith's  forge  fire,  will  cause  the  decomposition  of 
the  hydrate  of  potash. 

The  dimensions  of  the  Calorimotor  may  be  much  reduced 
without  proportionately  diminishing  the  effect.  I  have  one 
of  sixty  plates  within  a  cubic  foot,  which  burns  off  No.  16, 
iron  wire.  A  good  workman  could  get  120  plates  of  a  foot 
square  within  a  hollow  cube  of  a  size  no  larger.  But  the 
inflammation  of  the  hydrogen  which  gives  so  much  splendour 
to  the  experiment,  can  only  be  exhibited  advantageously  on 
a  large  scale." 

There  we  have  the  outline  of  an  early  instrument  which 
was  to  prove  to  be  more  helpful  in  his  subsequent  work,  and 
it  was  indeed  most  suggestive.  In  fact  "  in  Hare's  calori- 
motor  we  have  a  form  of  apparatus  which  is  admirably 
adapted  to  develop  a  large  quantitative  flow,  and  one  which 
has  now  a  wide  use  for  this  purpose,  the  substitution  of  plates 
of  carbon  for  copper  and  of  amalgamated  zinc  for  the  un- 
protected metal,  being  the  only  changes  which  modern  art 
has  introduced  into  Hare's  original  instrument,  long  for- 
gotten, and  perhaps  before  unknown  to  the  present  genera- 
tion, but  now  revived  again,  and  permanently  installed  in 
the  laboratory  of  the  physicist." 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  77 

Silliman  said  of  the  calorimotor:  "  its  principal  obvious 
effect  is  to  produce  a  great  flow  of  heat  with  very  little 
electrical  excitement;  in  this  view  it  is  a  peculiar  and  inter- 
esting instrument,  and  the  name  given  by  the  inventor  is 
entirely  appropriate;  he  might  also  with  almost  equal  pro- 
priety have  called  it  a  magnetimotor." 

And  further:  "  in  the  calorimotor  in  my  possession  the 
plates  are  18  inches  square;  there  are  9  of  zinc  on  one  side, 
alternating  with  10  of  copper,  and  10  of  zinc  on  the  other 
side  alternating  with  11  of  copper,  40  plates  in  the  whole,  and 
90  square  feet  of  surface ;  the  outside  plate  is  copper  on  both 
sides,  so  that  the  zinc  surfaces  are,  everywhere,  opposed  to 
copper,  and  this  is  all  the  insulation  that  there  is,  as  the  cubical 
box  into  which  they  are  plunged  has  no  partition.  The  plates 
are  connected  by  long  bars  of  tin,  gashed  by  a  saw,  so  as  to  re- 
ceive the  metals,  which  are  secured  also  by  solder,  and  the 
alternating  plates  are  cut  down,  so  as  not  to  be  in  the  way  of 
the  bars  that  connect  the  opposing  surfaces.  Not  only  alter- 
nation of  the  plates  but  a  repetition  of  the  pairs,  to  at  least 
two,  is  necessary  to  produce  an  intense  calorific  effect." 

Alfred  Niaudet,  in  his  Traite  Elementaire  de  la  Pile 
Electrique,  said  of  the  Calorimotor  that  it  was  worthy  of 
especial  consideration,  because  it  had  served  as  a  model  for 
Plante  in  the  construction  of  his  secondary  battery. 

It  might  be  argued  that  matters  so  significant  as  those 
just  described  would  have  crowded  out  all  other  ideas,  but  in 
the  midst  of  this  epoch-making  work  one  may  read  in  the 
Portfolio  (1818)  that  Hare  had  contrived  an  apparatus  for 
the  burning  of  tar  instead  of  oil,  to  be  applied  in  the  lighting 
of  cities,  manufactories,  etc.,  greatly  diminishing  the  expense. 
He  had  ascertained  that  three  pounds  of  tar  would  give  as 
much  light  as  two  pounds  of  oil  or  tallow  burnt  in  the  usual 
manner,  and,  consequently,  calculating  on  the  usual  prices 
of  these  articles,  and  the  entire  saving  for  wicks,  which  were 


78  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

not  required  for  the  burning  of  tar,  it  appeared  that  the  same 
quantity  of  light  might  be  produced  in  this  way  at  a  very 
much  reduced  cost.  The  apparatus  consisted  of  a  fountain 
reservoir  to  hold  four  or  five  pounds  of  tar  to  supply  the 
lamp  at  a  uniform  height,  "  and  a  lanthorn  with  a  draught 
pipe  attached  to  it."  The  lamp  presented  at  one  end  a  cylin- 
drical mouth  for  receiving  the  pipe  of  the  reservoir;  at  the 
other  end  a  cylindrical  cup,  in  which  the  tar  was  ignited,  the 
flame  being  drawn  up  through  a  central  hole  in  the  bottom  of 
the  lanthorn  so  as  to  occupy  its  axis  in  passing  to  the  draught 
pipe.  All  the  air  which  supplied  this  was  made  to  meet  in 
the  same  axis,  and  thus  to  excite  the  combustion.  A  lamp 
of  this  description  would  burn  for  nine  hours,  and  it  was 
found  that  by  it  the  carbonaceous  matter,  which  usually  ob- 
scures the  flame  of  resinous  substances,  was  made  to  con- 
tribute to  the  light.  Four  or  five  barrels  of  tar  used  in  this 
way,  and  they  did  not  cost  more  than  ten  to  twelve  dollars, 
it  was  computed  would  give  eight  times  the  light  of  a  common 
street  lamp  for  one  year. 

Absorbed  as  Hare  must  have  been  in  the  novel  and  far- 
reaching  effects  of  his  calorimotor,  he  nevertheless  took  occa- 
sion to  remind  Silliman  that  he  was  teaching  "  that  acid 
properties  never  appearing  in  the  absence  of  water,  this 
fluid  or  its  elements  are  most  entitled  to  be  considered  as  the 
acidifying  principle;  but  that  probably  it  does  not  exist  in 
acids  as  water,  but  is  decomposed  when  added  to  them,  the 
particles  of  hydrogen  and  oxygen  by  their  different  polar- 
ities taking  opposite  sides  of  those  composing  the  base.  The 
extrication  of  hydrogen  by  the  action  of  diluted  sulphuric 
acid  on  iron  or  zinc,  being  the  consequence  of  a  previous 
not  simultaneous  decomposition  of  water.  Hence  when  sul- 
phuric or  nitric  acids  are  so  concentrated  as  to  char  or  ignite, 
they  are  not  acids  really." 

And  in  a  letter  to  the  same  person,  dated  December  30, 
1819,  he  observed: 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  79 

"  I  believe  I  mentioned  in  a  letter  to  you  last  summer, 
that  I  had  rendered  the  flame  of  Hydrogen  luminous  like 
that  of  oil,  by  adding  a  small  quantity  of  oil  of  turpentine 
to  the  usual  mixture  for  generating  that  gas.  When  the 
ingredients  are  at  the  proper  temperature  the  light  is  greater 
I  think  than  that  produced  by  Carburetted  Hydrogen. 

I  have  lately  found  that  the  addition  of  about  1/17  of 
the  same  substance  to  alcohol  will  give  this  fluid  the  property 
of  burning  with  a  highly  luminous  flame,  and  that  there  is  a 
certain  point  in  the  proportions  at  which  the  mixture  burns 
without  soot,  like  a  gas  light. 

This  observation  may  be  of  use  where  spirits  are  cheap, 
as  in  our  western  states,  and  even  in  the  northern  parts  of 
the  Union  where  it  is  made  from  potatoes. 

It  might  be  serviceable  to  morals  if  the  value  of  this 
article  could  be  enhanced  by  a  new  mode  of  consumption." 

The  account  of  the  decomposition  of  caustic  potash  ex- 
temporaneously was  issued  in  a  separate  pamphlet.  This  was 
sent  to  Silliman  who  probably  questioned  the  word  extem- 
poraneously, which  then  called  forth  this  letter: 

"  My  dear  Silliman 

In  answer  to  yours  of  the  11th  you  may  alter  the  title 
agreeably  to  your  judgment  which  I  have  not  the  least  doubt 
is  better  in  this  case  than  mine  can  be  but  have  you  reflected 
on  the  word  extemporaneously.  I  do  not  say  a  new  mode  of 
decomposing  potash  but  a  new  mode  of  decomposing  it  ex- 
temporaneously— It  has  not  been  effected  heretofore  in  any 
mode  so  extemporaneous — especially  by  iron — Then  I  do  not 
say  a  new  mode  of  obtaining  potassium.  The  decomposi- 
tion of  the  potash  which  is  a  different  thing  is  proved  by  the 
Flame  which  has  the  rose  colour  arising  from  the  metal  or 
the  Potassuretted  Hydrogen — The  paper  was  ordered  to  be 
printed  in  the  journal  of  the  society  but  so  much  delay  was 
likely  to  take  place  &  having  a  prospect  of  being  obliged  to 


80  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

leave  Philada  I  put  it  into  the  hands  of  Messr  Carey  &  Son 
who  published  it  giving  me  a  number  of  copies. — You  may 
say  in  a  note  this  paper  was  read  before  the  Academy  by 
Dr  Hare  &  was  ordered  to  be  printed  in  their  journal  but 
more  delay  occurring  than  usual  the  author  prefer'd  pub- 
lishing it  himself — 

You  are  at  liberty  of  course  to  republish  it  merely  copying 
the  title  if  you  should  not  deem  any  explanation  necessary — 
You  can  have  the  plate  that  is  purchase  it  at  $12  &  I  have 
accordingly  made  the  bargain  &  will  send  it  on — You  might 
have  the  Calorimotor  constructed  here  for  about  ten  for  the 
labour  I  presume — The  workman  who  made  mine  charges 
about  1  33/100  p  day.  The  whole  cost  fifty  dolls  probably 
on  a  large  scale — 

Your  faithful  f T* 

ROB*  HARE." 

"  I  am  grieved  that  your  sons  ill  health  should  afflick 
you  so  much — We  know  by  experience  what  must  be  your 
sufferings." 

It  was  in  1818  that  Silliman,  feeling  the  need  of  a  de- 
pository for  the  discoveries  of  American  men  of  Science, 
founded  the  American  Journal  of  Science.  It  had  a  rather 
chequered  career  in  its  earlier  years,  as  is  apparent  from 
this  letter  from  Hare: 

"...  I  am  grieved  to  hear  the  pecuniary  result  of 
your  publication  is  so  unfavorable.  In  our  city  the  interest 
in  favor  of  our  own  journals  is  very  strong.  I  have  already 
hinted  this  to  you  as  operating  against  the  giving  of  com- 
munications abroad,  and  of  course  it  will  operate  against 
subscriptions.  There  are  few  in  our  country  who  take  in- 
terest in  the  profounder  branches  of  knowledge.  I  doubt 
if  there  be  a  dozen  men  on  the  Continent  who  would  peruse 
some  of  the  essays  on  musical  temperament  in  your  Journal. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  81 

I  was  told  in  New  York  that  many  said  they  could  not 
understand  my  memoir,  who  considered  their  standing  such 
as  to  feel  as  if  this  were  an  imputation  against  me  rather  than 
themselves.  I  could  not  write  it  for  those  who  are  so  igno- 
rant, without  making  it  too  prolix  and  commonplace  for 
adepts.  There  is  our  difficulty, — we  cannot  write  anything 
for  the  scientific  few  which  will  be  agreeable  to  the  ignorant 
many  .  .  ." 

«  My  dear  Silliman  "  Philad*  APrU  "**  182° 

Messrs  Little  &  Henry  have  informed  me  that  another 
number  of  your  journal  is  already  published.  I  was  led  to 
infer  from  your  letter  last  winter  that  there  would  not  be 
room  for  my  strictures  on  Clarke's  gas  blowpipe  as  it  will 
occupy  nearly  two  sheets  of  printing  on  the  scale  of  your 
work.  I  am  sensible  it  is  difficult  to  get  people  to  read  so 
much  on  a  subject  which  does  not  interest  them  but  I  have 
been  desirous  of  giving  a  full  exposure  of  the  flagitious  con- 
duct of  that  shallow  pretender. — I  have  a  number  of  sub- 
jects to  write  on  which  I  intend  to  embody  in  the  appendix 
to  the  text-book.  Some  of  these  being  more  brief  &  interest- 
ing especially  my  improvements  in  Eudiometry  it  seems  to 
me  that  my  publication  would  command  more  attention  were 
the  whole  associated.  The  good  will  &  opinion  of  my  readers 
being  gain'd  by  one  topick  they  may  be  more  dispos'd  to 
give  a  fair  attention  to  the  other.  I  contemplate  therefore 
publishing  a  pamphlet  comprising  my  strictures  &  other 
matter  together  publish'd  as  an  appendix  to  the  text  Book 
used  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania — The  expense  of 
the  engravings  will  be  borne  eventually  by  Mr  DeSilver  the 
publisher  of  the  text  Book.  It  remains  for  you  to  say 
whether  you  will  wish  the  use  of  the  plates  &  if  so  whether 
they  shall  be  executed  for  you  or  him  in  the  first  instance. 
If  desirable  &  practicable  I  would  be  willing  to  have  the 
whole  printed  as  if  originally  for  your  journal — But  I  fear 


82  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

this  will  not  be  possible  as  I  am  desirous  that  my  reply  to 
Clarke  should  appear  this  spring  in  time  to  reach  Europe  in 
the  spring  vessels.  So  far  as  respects  the  circulation  of  your 
journal  in  this  country  the  publication  of  these  articles  in  the 
mode  first  suggested  would  have  little  influence  as  the  circu- 
lation of  the  letter  would  be  very  limited  &  in  that  case  you 
might  select  or  abridge  as  might  be  agreeable  to  you  while  I 
should  stipulate  for  the  use  of  the  plates  on  moderate  terms. 

You  have  never  told  me  whether  to  send  on  your  lottery 
ticket  or  to  keep  it  for  you — The  number  is  Three  hundred 
&  seventy  two  (372)  — 

I  believe  I  never  mentioned  to  you  that  I  spoke  to  Th° 
Duncan  the  workman  who  made  my  calorimotor  to  construct 
one  for  you  but  he  did  not  offer  to  go  to  work  till  it  was  too 
late  in  the  season  to  be  in  time  according  for  your  orders. 

Can  you  not  pay  us  a  visit  this  vacation?  It  would  give 
Mrs  Hare  &  myself  great  pleasure  to  see  you  &  Mrs  Silliman 
under  our  roof — during  your  stay  here? 

Yours  faithfully 

ROB*  HARE." 

"P.  S.  Since  writing  the  above  I  feel  somewhat  more 
undecided  about  the  course  which  it  would  be  preferable  to 
pursue.  I  should  be  glad  to  hear  from  you." 

To-day  gas  analysis  has  attained  a  high  degree  of  per- 
fection. It  had  scarcely  been  begun  in  the  first  quarter  of 
the  19th  Century.  The  inquiring  mind  of  Hare,  impelling 
him  forward  in  every  variety  of  research,  encountered  this 
situation  so  that  he  promptly  strove  to  improve  conditions 
and  advance  eudiometric  studies.  Indeed,  a  careful  exam- 
ination of  the  numerous  forms  of  eudiometer  devised  by  him 
leads  to  the  evident  conclusion  that  in  this  field  he  was  also 
a  pioneer  and  that  in  his  varied  apparatus  one  sees  the  germs 
of  more  modern  and  widely  celebrated  apparatus.  With  his 
eudiometer  not  only  was  air  analyzed,  but  ammonia,  the  hy- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  83 

drides  of  carbon  and  other  gaseous  mixtures.  The  ignition 
of  the  platinum  by  the  Calorimotor,  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
flaming the  gases,  is  an  elegant  and  novel  method  of  operat- 
ing ;  the  various  modes  of  measuring  the  gases  are  ingenious 
and  accurate,  but  the  detailed  description  of  all  the  instru- 
ments and  operations  may  be  found  in  the  celebrated  "  Com- 
pendium." Therefore,  it  will  probably  best  serve  the  pur- 
pose of  the  reader  to  follow  the  exact  language  of  the  master 
in  the  account  of  his  first  instrument  for  this  kind  of  work. 

"Among  the  operations  of  chemistry,  none  probably  are 
more  difficult  than  those  called  Eudiometrical,  in  which  aeri- 
form substances  are  analyzed. 

Elastic  fluids  are  so  liable  to  contract  or  expand  with 
the  slightest  change  of  temperature  or  pressure,  that  it  is 
requisite  to  have  the  surface  of  the  portion  under  water  or 
mercury  employed  to  confine  it,  and  the  heat  of  the  hand 
may  render  the  result  inaccurate.  There  is  no  simple  mode  of 
causing  the  surface  of  the  gas  in  measure  glass  to  form  a 
plane  corresponding  with  the  brim  of  the  measure  glass  con- 
taining it.  The  transfer  of  small  portions  of  gas  without 
loss,  especially  from  large  bells  into  small  tubes  is  very  diffi- 
cult. Hence  there  is  trouble,  delay  and  waste. 

I  shall  proceed  to  describe  some  instruments  which  I  have 
lately  invented,  and  which  appear  to  be  free  from  the  dis- 
advantages above  described.  They  are  all  essentially  de- 
pendent on  one  principle  for  their  superiority.  A  recurved 
glass  tube  is  furnished  with  a  sliding  wire  of  iron  or  copper, 
graduated  into  two  hundred  parts.  The  process  of  making 
wire  by  drawing  it  through  a  hole,  renders  its  circumference 
of  necessity  everywhere  equal  and  homologous.  Conse- 
quently equal  lengths  will  contain  equal  bulks. 

The  wire  slides  through  a  cork  soaked  in  beeswax  and 
oil,  and  compressed  by  a  screw,  so  that  neither  air  nor  water 
can  pass  by  it. 


84  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

The  length  of  the  longer  leg  is  fifteen  inches,  that  of  the 
shorter  one  six  inches.  The  bore  of  the  tube  is  from  4/10  to 
5/10  an  inch  in  diameter,  but  converges  towards  the  termina- 
tion of  the  shorter  leg  to  an  orifice  about  large  enough  to 
admit  a  brass  pin.  Over  this  a  screw  is  sometimes  affixed, 
so  as  to  close  it  when  necessary. 

The  tube  being  filled  with  water  or  mercury,  and  the 
wire  pushed  into  it  as  far  as  it  can  go,  on  drawing  this  out 
again  any  desired  distance,  an  equivalent  bulk  of  air  must 
enter  the  capillary  orifice  if  open.  By  forcing  the  rod  back 
again  into  the  tube,  the  air  must  be  proportionately  excluded. 
Thus  the  movements  of  the  sliding  wire  are  accompanied  by 
a  corresponding  ingress  or  egress  of  air,  and  to  know  how 
many  divisions  of  the  former  have  been  pushed  into  the  tube, 
or  withdrawn  from  it,  is  the  same  as  to  know  how  much  air 
has  been  drawn  in  or  expelled. 

If,  instead  of  allowing  the  orifice  to  be  in  the  open  air, 
it  be  introduced  within  a  bell  glass,  holding  gas  over  the 
pneumatic  apparatus,  on  pulling  out  the  wire,  there  will  be 
a  corresponding  entrance  of  gas  into  the  instrument;  and  it 
must  be  evident  that  if  the  point  of  the  gas  measures  be 
transferred  to  the  interior  of  any  other  recipient,  the  gas 
which  had  entered,  or  any  part  of  it,  may  be  made  to  go  into 
any  such  recipient  by  reversing  the  motion  of  the  wire.  As 
the  hands  are,  during  this  operation,  remote  from  the  part 
of  the  tube  which  contains  the  aeriform  matter,  no  expansion 
can  arise  from  this  source,  and  the  operation  is  so  much 
expedited,  that  there  is  much  less  chance  of  variation  from 
any  other  cause.  By  taking  care  to  have  the  surface  of  the 
gas  in  the  bell  glasses  below  that  of  the  fluid  in  the  cistern, 
the  density  of  the  former  will  be  somewhat  too  great,  but  on 
bringing  the  orifice  of  the  gas  measurer  on  a  level,  with  the 
surface  of  the  fluid  in  the  cistern,  the  gas,  no  longer  subject 
to  any  extra  pressure,  will  assume  its  proper  volume,  the 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  85 

excess  being  seen  to  escape  in  bubbles.  Should  the  tube  in 
lieu  of  water,  be  filled  with  any  solution,  calculated  to  absorb 
any  gas,  of  which  the  proportion,  in  any  mixture,  is  to  be 
ascertained,  and  if  the  quantity  of  absorption  which  can  take 
place  while  the  wire  is  drawing  out,  is  deemed  unworthy  of 
attention,  we  have  only  to  introduce  the  shorter  leg  of  the  tube 
into  the  containing  vessel,  as  above  described,  and  draw  out 
the  wire  to  two  hundred  on  its  scale,  then  depressing  the  point 
below  the  surface  of  the  fluid  in  one  pneumatic  cistern  in  the 
usual  time  with  due  agitation,  all  the  gas  which  the  fluid  can 
take  up,  will  disappear.  The  quantity  will  be  represented  by 
the  number  of  divisions  which  remain  without  the  tube,  after 
pushing  in  the  wire  just  so  far,  as  to  exclude  the  residual  gas. 
Should  it  be  deemed  an  object  to  avoid  the  possibility 
of  any  absorption  during  the  time  occupied  in  the  retraction 
of  the  sliding  wire,  or  should  it  be  desired  to  expose  the  gas 
to  a  larger  quantity  of  the  absorbing  fluid,  an  additional  ves- 
sel is  used,  which  is  of  an  oblate  spheroidal  form,  with  a 
large  neck,  ground  to  fit  on  the  shorter  leg  of  a  gas  measurer, 
and  furnished  at  the  opposite  apex  with  a  tube,  of  which  the 
bore  converges  to  a  capillary  opening,  surmounted  by  a  screw, 
as  already  described,  on  the  point  of  the  gas  measurer  simply. 
This  vessel  (in  shape  not  unlike  a  turnip)  is  filled  with  the 
absorbing  fluid,  and  the  gas  measurer  being  duly  charged 
with  gas  as  above  described,  inserted  into  it.  By  the  action 
of  the  sliding  wire,  the  gas  is  propelled  into  the  spheroid, 
where,  by  agitation  and  time  the  absorption  is  completed. 
Meanwhile  the  orifice  of  the  spheroid  should  be  kept  open, 
and  under  water,  so  as  to  permit  the  latter  to  take  place  of 
that  portion  of  the  gas  which  disappears. — Whatever  re- 
mains unabsorbed,  is  expelled  from  the  glass  spheroid,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  tube  when  used  alone;  and  the  divisions  on 
the  rod  remaining  without,  will  shew  how  much  the  fluid 
has  taken  up. 


86  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

When  atmospheric  air,  or  oxygen  gas  is  to  be  analyzed 
by  nitrous  gas,  the  glass  spheroid  is  filled  with  water,  and 
inverted  with  its  orifice  closed  over  the  well  of  the  pneumatic 
cistern.  It  should  be  supported  by  a  wire  stand,  so  as  to 
leave  the  neck  unobstructed.  Any  number  of  measures  of 
nitrous  gas,  and  of  oxygen  gas  or  atmospheric  air,  may  then 
be  drawn  into  the  measurer,  and  expelled  into  the  spheroid 
successively,  and  the  absorption  estimated  as  already  ex- 
plained. When  the  residuum  is  too  great  to  be  expelled  by 
returning  the  whole  of  the  rod  into  the  tube,  by  depressing 
the  orifice  of  the  spheroid  just  under  the  surface  of  water, 
the  wire  may  be  again  gently  retracted,  water  taking  its 
place;  and  the  movement  may  thus  be  alternated,  till  the 
whole  of  the  remaining  gas  is  excluded.  In  order  to  apply 
this  principle  to  Volta's  process  of  ascertaining  by  explosion 
the  quantity  of  hydrogen  or  oxygen  gas  present,  in  a  mixture, 
the  gas  measurer  is  made  as  much  stronger,  as  eudiometers 
are  usually,  when  intended  to  be  so  used.  It  is  in  like  manner 
drilled  so  as  to  receive  wires  for  passing  the  electric  spark. 
The  instrument  being  charged  with  the  gases  successively  in 
any  required  proportion,  closed  by  the  screw,  and  an  ex- 
plosion accomplished;  to  fill  any  consequent  vacuity,  the 
orifice  is  to  be  opened  just  below  the  surface  of  water  or 
mercury.  The  quantity  destroyed  by  the  combustion  is  then 
ascertained  by  the  sliding  wire. 

This  experiment  is  more  accurately  performed  by  means 
of  mercury  than  water.  From  this  fluid,  concussion,  or  even 
the  partial  vacuum  produced  by  the  gaseous  matter,  may 
extricate  air,  and  thus  vitiate  results.  There  ought  always 
to  be  a  considerable  excess  of  gas  not  liable  to  be  acted  on. 
The  activity  of  the  inflammation  is  lessened,  and  the  uncon- 
sumed  air  breaks  the  shock. 

I  have  found  the  galvanic  ignition  produced  by  a  small 
ccdorimotor  preferable  to  the  electric  spark.  Suppose  a  piece 


! 

§  1 


«  H 

o   O 

II 

is 

f  H 
-    = 


2  2 

" 


r^ 
g.  o 

3  * 

n 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  87 

of  iron  wire  to  be  filed  down  in  the  middle  for  about  one  half 
of  an  inch  to  about  one  third  of  the  original  diameter.  The 
whole  is  cemented  into  the  perforation  drilled  in  the  tube,  so 
as  that  the  smallest  part  may  extend  across  the  bore.  The  wire 
should  then  be  cut  off  at  about  one-third  of  an  inch  from  the 
tube,  so  as  to  stand  out  from  it  on  each  side  about  that  dis- 
tance. If  these  protruding  wires  be  severally  placed  in  the 
forceps  of  a  calorimotor  and  the  plates  subjected  to  an  acid, 
the  small  part  of  the  wire  within  the  tube  is  vividly  ignited, 
and  any  gas  in  contact  with  it  m\ist  explode.  The  interior 
wire  is  best  made  of  platina,  and  may  in  that  case  be  screwed 
into  two  larger  pieces  of  a  baser  metal;  or  a  baser  metal  may 
be  fastened  on  it,  by  drawing  through  a  wire  plate,  and  the 
platina  duly  denuded  by  a  file  where  it  crosses  the  bore. 

The  calorimotor  which  I  have  used  for  this  purpose,  con- 
sists of  eleven  plates  of  copper,  and  a  like  number  of  zinc, 
placed  alternately  within  one-fourth  of  an  inch  of  each  other; 
those  of  the  same  kind  of  metal  being  all  associated  by  means 
of  a  metallic  stratum  of  tin  cast  over  them.  The  two  hetero- 
geneous galvanic  surfaces  thus  formed,  have  each  soldered 
to  them  a  wire  in  a  vertical  position,  and  slit,  so  as  to  present 
a  fork  or  snake's  mouth.  The  wires  are  just  so  far  apart  as 
to  admit  the  gas  measurer  between  them,  so  that  the  wires 
of  the  latter  may  easily  be  pressed  into  the  snake  mouths. 
It  is  better  that  the  wires  of  the  gas  measurer  should  be  flat- 
tened in  such  manner  as  to  present  a  larger  surface  for  con- 
tact. There  must  also  be  an  oblong  square  box  or  hollow 
parallelopipedon  of  such  a  width  as  just  to  admit  the  calori- 
motor, and  more  than  double  its  length  and  depth.  The 
calorimotor  is  placed  within  this  box,  at  one  end  of  it,  about  an 
inch  below  the  brim.  Dilute  acid  is  poured  in  so  as  to  occupy 
the  lower  half  of  the  vessel,  until  it  nearly  reaches  the  plates. 
A  plunger,  consisting  of  a  water  tight  box,  or  solid  block  of 
wood,  is  then  made  to  occupy  the  other  side  of  the  little  cistern. 


88  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

The  depression  of  this  causes  the  rise  of  the  acid  among  the 
plates  in  the  calwimotor,  and  consequently  the  ignition  of  a 
wire  forming  a  communication  between  the  surfaces. 

This  apparatus  may  be  constructed  in  the  circular  form, 
by  so  placing  two  concentric  coils,  or  several  concentric  hollow 
cylinders  of  copper  and  zinc,  alternately  within  the  upper 
half  of  a  glass  jar  as  to  admit  of  a  plunger  in  the  middle, 
which  in  this  case  may  be  of  an  apothecaries  stopper  round  or 
bottle.  The  acid  solution  must  occupy  the  lower  half  of  the 
vessel,  unless  when  the  plunger  raises  it. 

I  am  under  the  impression  that  there  is  no  form  in  which 
a  pair  of  galvanic  surfaces  can  be  made  so  powerful  in  pro- 
portion to  their  extent,  as  in  that  above  mentioned.  The  zinc 
is  everywhere  opposed  by  two  copper  surfaces  by  having  this 
metal  only  a  small  fraction  in  excess." 

The  story  of  the  development  of  the  deflagrator — a  second 
epoch-making  instrument — is  best  told  in  Hare's  own 
language: 

"  I  had  observed  that  the  ignition  produced  by  one  or 
two  galvanic  pairs  attained  its  highest  intensity,  almost  as 
soon  as  they  were  covered  by  the  acid  used  to  excite  them, 
and  ceased  soon  afterwards;  although  the  action  of  the  acid 
should  have  increased  during  the  interim.  I  had  also  re- 
marked in  using  an  apparatus  of  three  hundred  pairs  of  small 
plates,  that  a  platina  wire,  No.  16,  placed  in  the  circuit,  was 
fused  in  consequence  of  a  construction  which  enabled  me  to 
plunge  them  all  nearly  at  the  same  time.  It  was  therefore 
conceived,  that  the  maximum  of  effect  in  voltaic  apparatus 
of  extensive  series  had  never  been  attained.  The  plates  are 
generally  arranged  in  distinct  troughs  rarely  containing  more 
than  twenty  pairs.  Those  of  the  great  apparatus  of  the  Royal 
Institution,  employed  by  Sir  H.  Davy,  had  only  ten  pairs  in 
each.  There  were  one  hundred  such  to  be  successfully  placed 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  89 

in  the  acid,  and  the  whole  connected  ere  the  poles  could  act. 
Consequently  the  effect  which  arises  immediately  after  im- 
mersion, would  be  lost  in  the  troughs  first  arranged,  before  it 
could  be  produced  in  the  last ;  and  no  effort  appears  to  have 
been  made  to  take  advantage  of  this  transient  accumulation 
of  power,  either  in  using  the  magnificent  combination,  or  in 
any  other  of  which  I  have  read.  In  order  to  observe  the 
consequence  of  simultaneous  immersion  with  a  series  suffi- 
ciently numerous  to  test  the  correctness  of  my  expectations, 
a  galvanic  apparatus  of  eighty  concentric  coils  of  copper  and 
zinc  was  so  suspended  by  a  beam  and  levers,  as  that  they 
might  be  made  to  descend  into,  or  rise  out  of  the  acid  in  an 
instant.  The  zinc  sheets  were  about  nine  inches  by  six,  the 
copper  fourteen  by  six ;  more  of  this  metal  being  necessary, 
as  in  every  coil  it  was  made  to  commence  within  the  zinc,  and 
completely  to  surround  it  without.  The  sheets  were  coiled 
so  as  not  to  leave  between  them  an  interstice  wider  than  a 
quarter  of  an  inch.  Each  coil  is  in  diameter  about  two  inches 
and  a  half,  so  that  all  may  descend  freely  into  eighty  glass 
jars  two  inches  and  three  quarters  diameter  inside,  and  eight 
inches  high,  duly  stationed  to  receive  them. 

My  apparatus  being  thus  arranged,  two  small  lead  pipes 
were  severally  soldered  to  each  pole,  and  a  piece  of  charcoal 
about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  and  an  inch  and  a  half  long, 
tapering  a  little  at  each  extremity,  had  these  severally  inserted 
into  the  hollow  ends  of  the  pipes:  The  jars  being  furnished 
with  diluted  acid  and  the  coils  suddenly  lowered  into  them, 
no  vestige  of  the  charcoal  could  be  seen:  It  was  ignited  so 
intensely,  that  those  portions  of  the  pipes  by  which  it  had 
been  embraced  were  destroyed.  In  order  to  avoid  a  useless 
and  tiresome  repetition,  I  will  here  state  that  the  coils  were 
only  kept  in  the  acid  while  the  action  at  the  poles  was  at  a 
maximum  in  the  experiment  just  mentioned,  and  in  others 
which  I  am  about  to  describe,  unless  where  the  decomposition 


90  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

produced  by  water  is  spoken  of,  or  the  sensation  excited  in 
the  hands.  I  designate  the  apparatus  with  which  I  per- 
formed them,  as  the  galvanic  deflagrator,  on  account  of  its 
superior  power,  in  proportion  to  its  size,  in  causing  deflagra- 
tion; and  as,  in  the  form  last  adopted,  it  differs  from  the 
voltaic  pile  in  the  omission  of  one  of  the  elements  heretofore 
deemed  necessary  to  its  construction. 

Desirous  of  seeing  the  effect  of  the  simultaneous  im- 
mersion of  my  series  upon  water,  the  pipes  soldered  to  the 
poles  were  introduced  into  a  vessel  containing  that  fluid. 
No  extraordinary  effect  was  perceived,  until  they  were  very 
near,  when  a  vivid  flash  was  observed,  and  happening  to 
touch  almost  at  the  same  time,  they  were  found  fused  and 
incorporated  at  the  place  of  contact.  I  next  soldered  to  each 
pipe  a  brass  cylinder  about  five-tenths  of  an  inch  bore.  These 
cylinders  were  made  to  receive  the  tapering  extremities  of  a 
piece  of  charcoal  about  two  inches  long  so  as  to  complete  the 
circuit.  The  submersion  of  the  coils  caused  the  most  vivid 
ignition  in  the  coal.  It  was  instantaneously  and  entirely  on 
fire.  A  piece  of  platina  of  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  diam- 
eter in  connexion  with  one  pole,  was  instantly  fused  at  the 
end  on  being  brought  in  contact  with  some  mercury  com- 
municating with  the  other.  When  two  cylinders  of  charcoal 
having  hemispherical  termination  were  fitted  into  the  brass 
cylinders  and  brought  nearly  into  contact,  a  most  vivid  igni- 
tion took  place,  and  continued  after  they  were  removed  about 
a  half  or  three-quarters  of  an  inch  apart,  the  interval  rivalling 
the  sun  in  brilliancy.  The  igneous  fluid  appeared  to  proceed 
from  the  positive  side.  The  charcoal  in  the  cylinder  soldered 
to  the  latter  would  be  intensely  ignited  throughout  when 
the  piece  connected  with  the  negative  pole  was  ignited  more 
towards  the  extremity  approaching  the  positive.  The  most 
intense  action  seems  to  arise  from  placing  a  platina  wire  of 
about  the  eighth  of  an  inch  diameter,  in  connexion  with  the 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  91 

positive  pole,  and  bringing  it  in  contact  with,  and  afterwards 
removing  it  a  small  distance  apart  from,  a  piece  of  charcoal 
(fresh  from  the  fire)  affixed  to  the  other  pole. 

As  points  are  pre-eminently  capable  of  carrying  off 
(without  being  injured)  a  current  of  the  electrical  fluid, 
and  very  ill  qualified  to  conduct  caloric ;  while  by  facilitating 
radiation,  charcoal  favours  the  separation  of  caloric  from  the 
electricity  which  does  not  radiate;  this  result  seems  consistent 
with  my  hypothesis,  that  the  fluids  as  extricated  by  Volta's 
pile  is  a  compound  of  caloric  and  electricity;  but  not  with  the 
other  hypothesis,  which  supposes  it  to  be  electricity  alone. 
The  finest  needle  is  competent  to  discharge  the  product  of 
the  most  powerful  machines  without  detriment,  if  received 
gradually  as  generated  by  them.  Platina  points,  as  small  as 
those  which  were  melted  like  wax  in  my  experiments,  are  used 
as  tips  to  lightning  rods  without  injury,  unless  in  sudden 
discharges,  produced  under  peculiar  circumstances. 

The  following  experiment  I  conceive  to  be  very  unfav- 
ourable to  the  idea  that  galvanic  ignition  arises  from  a  current 
of  electricity. 

A  cylinder  of  lead  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  diameter, 
and  about  two  inches  long,  was  reduced  to  the  thickness  of 
a  common  brass  pin  for  about  three  quarters  of  an  inch. 
When  one  end  was  connected  with  one  pole  of  the  apparatus, 
the  other  remained  suspended  by  this  filament;  yet  it  was 
instantaneously  fused  by  contact  with  the  other  pole.  As 
all  the  calorific  fluid  which  acted  upon  the  suspended  knob, 
must  have  passed  through  the  filament  by  which  it  hung, 
the  fusion  could  not  have  resulted  from  a  pure  electrical 
current,  which  would  have  dispersed  the  filament  ere  a  mass 
fifty  times  larger  had  been  perceptibly  affected.  Accord- 
ing to  my  theory,  caloric  is  not  separated  from  the  electricity 
until  circumstances  very  much  favour  a  disunion,  as  on  the 
passage  of  the  compound  fluid  through  charcoal,  the  air,  or  a 


92  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

vacuum.  In  operating  with  the  deflagrator,  I  have  found 
a  brass  knob  of  about  five  tenths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  to 
burn  on  the  superficies  only;  where  alone  according  to  my 
view,  caloric  is  separated  so  as  to  act  on  the  mass.  Having, 
as  mentioned  in  the  memoir  on  my  theory  of  galvanism, 
found  that  four  galvanic  surfaces  acted  well  in  one  recipient, 
I  was  tempted  by  means  of  the  eighty  coils  to  extend  that 
construction.  It  occurred  to  me  that  attempts  of  this  kind, 
had  failed  from  using  only  one  copper  for  each  zinc  plate. 
The  zinc  had  always  been  permitted  to  react  towards  the 
negative,  as  well  as  the  positive  pole.  My  coils  being  sur- 
rounded by  copper,  it  seemed  probable,  that,  if  electro-caloric 
were,  as  I  had  suggested,  carried  forward  by  circulation  aris- 
ing from  galvanic  polarity,  this  might  act  within  the  interior 
of  the  coils,  yet  not  be  exerted  between  one  coil  and  another. 
I  had  accordingly  a  trough  constructed  with  a  partition 
along  the  middle,  so  as  to  receive  forty  coils  on  one  side,  and 
a  like  number  on  the  other.  This  apparatus  when  in  opera- 
tion excited  a  sensation  scarcely  tolerable  in  the  backs  of  the 
hands.  Interposed  charcoal  was  not  ignited  as  easily  as 
before,  but  a  most  intense  ignition  took  place  on  bringing  a 
metallic  point  connected  with  one  pole  of  the  series,  into 
contact  with  a  piece  of  charcoal  fastened  to  the  other.  It 
did  not  take  place,  however,  so  speedily  as  when  glasses  were 
used ;  but  soon  after  the  ignition  was  effected  it  became  even 
more  powerful  than  before.  A  cylinder  of  platina  nearly  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  tapering  a  little  at  the  end, 
was  fused  and  burned  so  as  to  sparkle  to  a  considerable  dis- 
tance around,  and  fall  in  drops.  A  ball  of  brass  of  about 
half  an  inch  diameter  was  seen  to  burn  on  its  surface  with 
a  green  flame.  Tin  foil,  or  tinsel  rolled  up  into  large  coils 
of  about  three  quarters  of  an  inch  thick,  were  rapidly  de- 
stroyed, as  was  a  wire  of  platina  of  No.  16.  Platina  wires 
in  connexion  with  the  poles  were  brought  into  contact  with 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  93 

sulphuric  acid;  there  was  an  appearance  of  lively  ignition, 
but  strongest  on  the  positive  side.  Excepting  in  its  power 
of  permeating  charcoal,  the  galvanic  fluid  seemed  to  be  ex- 
tricated with  as  much  force,  as  when  each  coil  was  in  a  dis- 
tinct glass.  Apprehending  that  the  partition  in  the  trough 
did  not  sufficiently  insulate  the  poles  from  each  other,  as 
they  were  but  a  few  inches  apart,  moisture  or  moistened 
wood  intervening,  I  had  two  troughs  each  to  hold  forty  pairs, 
and  took  care  that  there  should  be  a  dry  space  about  four 
inches  broad  between  them.  They  were  first  filled  with  pure 
river  water,  there  being  no  saline  nor  acid  matter  to  influence 
the  plates,  unless  the  very  minute  quantity  which  might  have 
remained  on  them  from  former  immersions.  Yet  the  sensation 
produced  by  them,  oh  the  backs  of  my  hands,  was  painful ;  and 
a  lively  scintillation  took  place  when  the  poles  were  approxi- 
mated. Dutch  gold  leaf  was  not  sensibly  burned,  though  water 
was  found  decomposable  by  wires  properly  affixed.  No  effect 
was  produced  on  potash,  the  heat  being  inadequate  to  fuse  it. 
A  mixture  of  nitre  and  sulphuric  acid  was  next  added  to 
the  water  in  the  troughs,  afterwards  charcoal  from  the  fire 
was  vividly  ignited,  and  when  attached  to  the  positive  pole,  a 
steel  wire  was  interposed  between  it  and  the  other  pole,  the 
most  vivid  ignition  which  I  ever  saw  was  induced.  I  should 
deem  it  imprudent  to  repeat  the  experiment  without  glasses, 
as  my  eyes,  though  unusually  strong,  were  affected  for  forty- 
eight  hours  afterwards.  If  the  intensity  of  the  light  did 
not  produce  an  optical  deception,  but  its  distressing  influence 
upon  the  organs  of  vision,  the  charcoal  assumed  a  pasty  con- 
sistence, as  if  in  a  state  approaching  to  fusion.  That  char- 
coal should  be  thus  softened,  without  being  destroyed  by  the 
oxygen  of  the  atmosphere,  will  not  appear  strange,  when  the 
power  of  galvanism  in  reversing  chemical  affinities  is  remem- 
bered; and  were  it  otherwise,  the  air  could  have  no  access, 
first,  because  of  the  excessive  rarefaction,  and  in  the  next 


94  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

place  as  I  suspect  on  account  of  the  volatilization  of  the  car- 
bon forming  about  it  a  circumambient  atmosphere.  This 
last  mentioned  impression  arose  from  observing,  that  when 
the  experiment  was  performed  in  vacuo,  there  was  a  lively 
scintillation,  as  if  the  carbon  in  an  aeriform  state  acted  as  a 
supporter  of  combustion  on  the  metal. 

A  wire  of  platina  No.  16,  was  fused  into  a  globule  on 
being  connected  with  the  positive  pole,  and  brought  into  con- 
tact with  a  piece  of  pure  hydrate  of  potash,  situated  on  a 
silver  tray  in  connexion  with  the  other  pole.  The  potash 
became  red  hot,  and  was  deflagrated  rapidly  with  a  flame 
having  the  rosy  hue  of  potassuretted  hydrogen. 

The  great  apparatus  of  the  Royal  Institution,  in  projec- 
tile power  was  from  six  to  eight  times  more  potent  than  mine. 
It  produced  a  discharge  between  charcoal  points  when  re- 
moved about  four  inches  apart,  where  mine  will  not  produce  a 
jet  at  more  than  three- fourths  of  an  inch.  But  that  series  was 
two  thousand,  mine  only  about  a  twenty-fifth  part  as  large. 

A  steel  wire  of  about  one  tenth  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
affixed  to  the  negative  pole,  was  passed  up  through  the  axis 
of  an  open  decked  inverted  bell  glass,  filled  with  water.  A 
platina  wire,  No.  16,  attached  to  a  positive  pole  being  passed 
down  to  the  steel  wire,  both  were  fused  together,  and  cooling, 
could  not  be  separated  by  manual  force.  Immediately  after 
this  incorporation  of  their  extremities,  the  platina  wire  be- 
came incandescent  for  a  space  of  some  inches  above  the 
surface  of  the  water. 

A  piece  of  silvered  paper  about  two  inches  square  was 
folded  up,  the  metallic  surface  outward,  and  fastened  into 
vices  affixed  to  the  poles.  Into  each  vice  a  wire  was  screwed 
at  the  same  time.  The  fluid  generated  by  the  apparatus 
was  not  perceptibly  conveyed  by  the  silvered  paper,  as  it 
did  not  prevent  the  wires  severally  attached  to  the  poles  from 
decomposing  water  or  producing  ignition  by  contact. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818^1847  95 

In  my  memoir  on  my  theory  of  galvanism  I  suggested, 
that  the  decomposition  of  water,  which  Wollaston  effected 
by  mechanical  electricity,  might  not  be  the  effect  of  a  divel- 
lent  attraction  like  those  excited  by  the  poles  of  a  voltaic 
pile,  but  of  a  mechanical  concussion,  as  when  wires  are  dis- 
persed by  the  discharge  of  an  electrical  battery.  In  support 
of  that  opinion  I  will  now  observe,  that  he  could  not  prevent 
hydrogen  and  oxygen  from  being  extricated  at  each  wire, 
instead  of  hydrogen  being  given  off  only  at  one,  and  oxygen 
at  the  other,  as  is  invariably  the  case  when  the  voltaic  pile  is 
employed.  That  learned  and  ingenious  philosopher,  in  con- 
cluding his  account  of  this  celebrated  experiment,  says  '  but 
in  fact  the  resemblance  is  not  complete,  for  in  every  way  in 
which  I  have  tried  it,  I  observed  each  wire  gave  out  both 
oxygen  and  hydrogen  gas,  instead  of  their  being  formed 
separately  as  by  the  electric  pile.' 

Is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  an  electrical  shock 
may  dissipate  any  body  into  its  elementary  atoms,  whether 
simple  or  compound,  so  that  no  two  particles  would  be  left 
together  which  can  be  separated  by  physical  means? 

Looking  over  Singer's  Electricity,  a  recent  and  most  able 
modern  publication,  I  find  that  in  the  explosion  of  brass  wire 
by  an  electrical  battery,  the  copper  and  zinc  actually  sep- 
arated. He  says,  page  186,  *  Brass  wire  is  sometimes  decom- 
posed by  the  charge ;  the  copper  and  zinc  of  which  it  is  formed 
being  separated  from  each  other,  and  appearing  in  their 
distinct  metallic  colours."  On  the  next  page  in  the  same 
work,  I  find  that  the  oxides  of  mercury  and  tin  are  reduced 
by  electrical  discharges.  '  Introduce,'  says  the  author,  *  some 
oxide  of  tin  into  a  glass  tube,  so  that  when  the  tube  is  laid 
horizontal,  the  oxide  may  cover  about  half  an  inch  of  its  lower 
internal  surface.  Place  the  tube  on  the  table  of  the  universal 
discharger,  and  introduce  the  pointed  wires  into  its  opposite 
ends,  that  the  portion  of  oxide  may  lie  between  them.  Pass 


96  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

several  strong  charges  in  succession  through  the  tube,  re- 
placing the  oxide  in  its  situation,  should  it  be  dispersed.  If 
the  charges  are  sufficiently  powerful,  a  part  of  the  tube  will 
soon  be  stained  with  metallic  tin,  which  has  been  revived  by 
the  action  of  transmitted  electricity/  It  cannot  be  alleged 
that  in  such  decompositions  the  divellent  polar  attractions 
are  exercised  like  those  which  characterize  the  action  of  wire 
proceeding  from  the  poles  of  a  voltaic  apparatus.  The  par- 
ticles were  dispersed  from,  instead  of  being  attracted  to  the 
wires,  by  which  the  influence  was  conveyed  among  them.  This 
being  undeniable,  it  can  hardly  be  advanced  that  we  are  to 
have  one  mode  of  explaining  the  separation  of  the  elements 
of  brass  by  an  electrical  discharge,  another  of  explaining 
the  separation  of  the  elements  of  water  by  the  same  agent. 
One  rationale  when  oxygen  is  liberated  from  tin,  and  another 
when  liberated  by  like  means  from  hydrogen.  In  the  ex- 
periment in  which  copper  was  precipitated  by  the  same  phil- 
osopher at  the  negative  pole,  we  are  not  informed  whether 
the  oxygen  and  acid  in  union  with  it  were  attracted  to  the 
other;  and  the  changes  produced  in  litmus  are  mentioned 
not  as  simultaneous,  but  successive.  The  violet  and  red  rays 
of  the  spectrum  have  an  opposite  chemical  influence  in  some 
degree  like  that  of  voltaic  poles,  but  this  has  not  led  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  cause  of  galvanism  and  light  is  the  same. 
Besides,  admitting  that  the  feeble  results  obtained  by  Wol- 
laston  and  Van  Marum  are  perfectly  analogous  to  those 
obtained  by  the  galvanic  fluid,  ere  it  can  become  an  objection 
to  my  hypothesis,  it  ought  first  to  be  shown  that  the  union 
between  caloric  and  electricity,  which  I  suppose  productive 
of  galvanic  phenomena,  cannot  be  produced  by  that  very 
process.  If  they  combine  to  form  the  galvanic  fluid  when 
extricated  by  ordinary  galvanic  action,  they  must  have  an 
affinity  for  each  other.  As  I  have  suggested  in  my  memoir, 
when  electricity  enters  the  pores  of  a  metal  it  may  unite  with 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  97 

its  caloric.  In  Wollaston's  experiments,  being  constrained 
to  enter  the  metal,  it  may  combine  with  enough  of  its  caloric 
to  produce,  when  emitted,  results  slightly  approaching  to 
those  of  a  fluid  in  which  caloric  exists  in  greater  proportion. 

But  once  more  I  demand  why,  if  mechanical  electricity 
be  too  intense  to  produce  galvanic  phenomena,  should  it  be 
rendered  more  capable  of  producing  them  by  being  still  more 
concentrated. 

If  the  one  be  generated  more  copiously,  the  other  more 
intensely,  the  first  will  move  in  a  large  stream  slowly,  the  last 
in  a  small  stream  rapidly.  Yet  by  narrowing  the  channel  of 
the  latter,  Wollaston  is  supposed  to  render  it  more  like 
the  former,  that  is,  produces  a  resemblance  by  increasing  the 
supported  source  of  dissimilarity. 

It  has  been  imagined  that  the  beneficial  effect  of  his  con- 
trivance arises  from  the  production  of  a  continued  stream, 
instead  of  a  succession  of  sparks,  but  if  a  continued  stream 
were  the  only  desideratum,  a  point  placed  near  the  conductor 
of  a  powerful  machine  would  afford  this  requisite,  as  the 
whole  product  may  in  such  cases  be  conveyed  by  a  sewing 
needle  in  a  stream  perfectly  continuous.  As  yet  no  adequate 
reasons  have  been  given  why,  in  operating  with  the  pile,  it  is 
not  necessary,  as  in  the  processes  of  Van  Marum  and  Wol- 
laston, to  enclose  the  wires  in  glass  or  sealing  wax,  in  order 
to  make  the  electricity  emanate  from  a  point  within  a  con- 
ducting fluid.  The  absence  of  necessity  is  accounted  for, 
according  to  my  hypothesis,  by  the  indisposition  which  the 
electric  fluid  has  to  quit  the  caloric  in  union  with  it,  and 
the  almost  absolute  incapacity  which  caloric  has  to  pass 
through  fluids  unless  by  circulation.  I  conceive  that  in  gal- 
vanic combinations,  electro-caloric  may  circulate  through  the 
fluid  from  the  positive  to  the  negative  surface,  and  through 
the  metal  from  the  negative  to  the  positive.  In  the  one  case 
caloric  subdues  the  disposition  which  electricity  has  to  diffuse 


98  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

itself  through  fluids,  and  carries  it  into  circulation.  In  the 
other,  as  metals  are  excellent  conductors  of  caloric,  the  pro- 
digious power  which  electricity  has  to  pervade  them  agree- 
ably to  any  attractions  which  it  may  exercise,  operates  almost 
without  restraining.  This  is  fully  exemplified  in  my  gal- 
vanic deflagrator,  where  eighty  pairs  are  suspended  in  two 
recipients,  forty  successively  in  each,  and  yet  decompose 
potash  with  the  utmost  rapidity,  and  produce  an  almost 
intolerable  sensation  when  excited  only  by  fresh  river  water.  I 
have  already  observed  that  the  reason  why  galvanic  appara- 
tus composed  of  pairs  consisting  each  of  one  copper  and  one 
zinc  plate  have  not  acted  well  without  insulation,  was  be- 
cause electro-caloric  could  retrocede  in  the  negative,  as  well 
as  advance  in  the  positive  direction.  I  will  now  add,  that 
independently  of  the  greater  effect  produced  by  the  simul- 
taneous immersion  of  my  eighty  coils,  their  power  is  improved 
by  the  proximity  of  the  surfaces,  which  are  only  about  an 
eighth  of  an  inch  asunder;  so  that  the  circulation  may  go 
on  more  rapidly. 

Pursuant  to  the  doctrine,  which  supposes  the  same  quan- 
tity of  electricity,  varying  in  intensity  in  the  ratio  of  the 
number  of  pairs  to  the  quantity  of  surface,  to  be  the  sole 
agent  in  galvanic  ignition,  the  electrical  fluid  as  evolved  by 
Sir  H.  Davy's  great  pile,  must  have  been  nearly  two  thou- 
sand times  more  intense,  than  as  evolved  by  a  single  pair,  yet 
it  gives  sparks  at  no  greater  distance  than  the  thirtieth  or 
fortieth  of  an  inch.  The  intensity  of  the  fluid  must  be  at 
least  as  much  greater  in  one  instance,  than  in  another,  as 
the  sparks  produced  by  it  are  longer.  A  fine  electrical  plate 
machine  of  thirty  two  inches  diameter,  will  give  sparks  at 
ten  inches.  Of  course  the  intensity  of  the  fluid  which  it 
emits,  must  be  three  hundred  times  greater  than  that  emitted 
by  two  thousand  pairs.  The  intensity  produced  by  a  single 
pair,  must  be  two  thousand  times  less  than  that  produced  by 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  99 

a  great  pile,  and  of  course  six  hundred  thousand  times  less 
than  that  produced  by  a  good  electrical  plate  of  thirty  two 
inches.  Yet  a  single  pair  of  about  a  square  foot  in  area,  will 
certainly  deflagrate  more  wire,  than  a  like  extent  of  coated 
surface  charged  by  such  a  plate.  According  to  Singer,  it 
requires  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  square  inches  of  coated 
glass,  to  destroy  watch  pendulum  wire ;  a  larger  wire  may  be 
burned  off  by  a  galvanic  battery  of  a  foot  square.  But  agree- 
ably to  the  hypothesis  in  dispute,  it  compensates  by  quantity, 
for  the  want  of  intensity.  Hence  the  quantity  of  fluid  in 
the  pair  is  six  hundred  thousand  times  greater,  while  its 
intensity  is  six  hundred  thousand  times  less;  and  vice  versa 
of  the  coated  surface.  Is  not  this  absurd?  What  does  in- 
tensity mean  as  applied  to  a  fluid?  Is  it  not  expressed  by 
the  ratio  of  quantity,  to  space?  If  there  be  twice  as  much 
electricity  within  one  cubic  inch,  as  within  another,  is  there 
not  twice  the  intensity?  But  the  one  acts  suddenly,  it  may 
be  said ;  the  other  slowly.  But  whence  this  difference  ?  They 
may  both  have  exactly  the  same  surface  to  exist  in.  The 
same  zinc  and  copper  plates  may  be  used  for  coatings  first, 
and  a  galvanic  pair  afterwards.  Let  it  be  said,  as  it  may  in 
truth,  that  the  charge  is,  in  the  one  case  attached  to  the  glass 
superficies,  in  the  other  exists  in  the  pores  of  the  metal.  But 
why  does  it  avoid  these  pores  in  one  case  and  reside  in  them 
in  the  other?  What  else  resides  in  the  pores  of  the  metal 
which  may  be  forced  out  by  percussion?  Is  it  not  caloric? 
Possibly,  unless  under  constraint,  or  circumstances  favor- 
able to  a  union  between  this  principle  and  electricity,  the 
latter  cannot  enter  the  metallic  pores,  beyond  a  certain  degree 
of  saturation;  and  hence  an  electrical  charge  does  not  reside 
in  the  metallic  coatings  of  a  Leyden  phial,  though  it  fuses  the 
wire  which  forms  a  circuit  between  them. 

It  is  admitted  that  the  action  of  the  galvanic  fluid,  is 
upon  or  between  atoms;  while  mechanical  electricity  when 


100  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

uncoerced,  acts  only  upon  masses.  This  difference  has  not 
been  explained  unless  by  my  hypothesis,  in  which  caloric,  of 
which  the  influence  is  only  exerted  between  atoms,  is  sup- 
posed to  be  a  principal  agent  in  galvanism.  Nor  has  any 
other  reason  been  given  that  water,  which  dissipates  pure 
electricity,  should  cause  the  galvanic  fluid  to  accumulate. 
From  the  prodigious  effect  which  moist  air,  or  a  moist  surface, 
has  in  paralyzing  the  most  efficient  machines,  I  am  led  to 
suppose,  that  the  conducting  power  of  moisture  so  situated, 
is  greater  than  that  of  water  under  its  surface.  The  power 
of  this  fluid  to  conduct  mechanical  electricity,  is  unfairly 
contrasted  with  that  of  a  metal,  when  the  former  is  enclosed  in 
a  glass  tube,  the  latter  bare. 

According  to  Singer,  the  electrical  accumulation  is  as 
great  when  water  is  used,  as  when  more  powerful  menstrua 
are  employed;  but  the  power  of  ignition  is  wanting,  until 
these  are  resorted  to.  De  Luc  showed,  by  his  ingenious  dis- 
sections of  the  pile,  that  electricity  might  be  produced  with- 
out, or  with  chemical  power.  The  rationale  of  these  differ- 
ences never  has  been  given,  unless  by  my  theory,  which 
supposes  caloric  to  be  present  in  the  one  case,  but  not  in  the 
other.  The  electric  column  was  the  fruit  of  De  Luc's  saga- 
cious enquiries,  and  afforded  a  beautiful  and  incontrovertible 
support  to  the  objections  he  made  to  the  idea,  that  the  gal- 
vanic fluid  is  pure  electricity,  when  extricated  by  the  voltaic 
pile  in  its  usual  form.  It  showed  that  a  pile  really  producing 
pure  electricity,  is  devoid  of  the  chemical  power  of  galvanism. 

We  are  informed  by  Sir  H.  Davy,  that  when  charcoal 
points  in  connection  with  the  poles  of  the  magnificent  ap- 
paratus with  which  he  operated,  were  first  brought  nearly 
into  contact,  and  then  withdrawn  four  inches  apart,  there 
was  a  heated  arch  formed  between  them  in  which  such  non- 
conducting substances  as  quartz  were  fused.  I  believe  it 
impossible  to  fuse  electrics  by  mechanical  electricity.  If  op- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  ioi 

posing  its  passage  they  may  be  broken,  and  if  conductors 
near  them  be  ignited,  they  may  be  acted  on  by  those  ignited 
conductors  as  if  otherwise  heated;  but  I  will  venture  to  pre- 
dict, that  the  slightest  glass  fibre  will  not  enter  into  fusion, 
by  being  placed  in  a  current  from  the  largest  machine  or 
electrical  battery. 

I  am  induced  to  believe,  that  we  must  consider  light,  as 
well  as  heat,  an  ingredient  in  the  galvanic  fluid;  and  think 
it  possible  that,  being  necessary  to  vitality  in  animals,  as 
well  as  vegetables,  the  electric  fluid  may  be  the  vehicle  of 
its  distribution. 

I  will  take  this  opportunity  of  stating,  that  the  heat 
evolved  by  one  galvanic  pair  has  been  found  by  the  experi- 
ments which  I  instituted,  to  increase  in  quantity,  but  to 
diminish  in  intensity,  as  the  size  of  the  surfaces  may  be  en- 
larged. A  pair  containing  about  fifty  square  feet  of  each 
metal,  will  not  fuse  platina,  nor  deflagrate  iron,  however  small 
may  be  the  wire  employed ;  for  the  heat  produced  in  metallic 
wires  is  not  improved  by  a  reduction  in  their  size  beyond  a 
certain  point.  Yet  the  metals  above  mentioned,  are  easily 
fused  or  deflagrated  by  smaller  pairs,  which  would  have  no 
perceptible  influence  on  masses  that  might  be  sensibly  ignited 
by  larger  pairs. — These  characteristics  were  fully  demon- 
strated, not  only  by  my  own  apparatus,  but  by  those  con- 
structed by  Messrs.  Wetherill  and  Peale,  and  which  are 
larger,  but  less  capable  of  exciting  intense  ignition.  Mr. 
Peak's  apparatus  contained  nearly  seventy  square  feet,  Mr. 
Wetherill's  nearly  one  hundred,  in  the  form  of  concentric 
coils,  yet  neither  could  produce  a  heat  above  redness  on  the 
smallest  wires.  At  my  suggestion,  Mr.  Peale  separated  the 
two  surfaces  in  his  coils  into  four  alternating,  constituting 
two  galvanic  pairs  in  one  recipient.  Iron  wire  was  then 
easily  burned  and  platina  fused  by  it.  These  facts,  together 
with  the  incapacity  of  the  calorific  fluid  extricated  by  the 


'«•>*>     C-  «( 

;%•  •„•  *  ^  **  1 

THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 


calorimotor  to  permeate  charcoal,  next  to  metals  the  best 
electrical  conductor,  must  sanction  the  position  I  assigned  to 
it  as  being  in  the  opposite  extreme  from  the  columns  of  De 
Luc  and  Zamboni.  For  as  in  these,  the  phenomena  are  such 
as  are  characteristic  of  pure  electricity,  so  in  one  very  large 
galvanic  pair,  they  almost  exclusively  demonstrate  the  agency 
of  pure  caloric." 

The  preceding  facts,  while  most  interesting,  but  other- 
wise explained  to-day,  had  scarcely  been  published,  when 
Hare  wrote  to  a  friend: 

"  I  am  constructing  a  galvanic  apparatus,  in  a  glass  jar, 
two  and  a  half  inches  in  diameter,  by  eight  inches  in  height, 
of  coils  of  copper  and  zinc;  the  zinc  plates  are  about  nine 
inches  by  six,  and  are  rolled  up  with  the  copper  by  means  of  a 
mandrel,  and  two  pieces  of  soal  leather  interposed,  one  eighth 
inch  thick,  the  copper  beginning  on  the  inside  and  ending  on 
the  outside;  so  that  it  takes  fourteen  inches  of  this  metal. 
There  will  be  eighty  pairs  only,  at  first.  The  soal  leather  is 
used  merely  to  give  them  the  proper  spiral  ;  and  is,  of  course, 
withdrawn,  when  they  are  taken  off  the  mandrel.  Narrow 
pieces  of  wood  are  employed  to  keep  them  apart  afterwards." 

Whereupon  the  following  epistle  was  sent  to  him: 

"  My  dear  Sir:  "  Yale  College>  October  23,  1821 

I  was  much  impressed  by  your  account  of  the  Galvanic 
Deflagrator,  and  of  the  fine  experiments  which  you  per- 
formed with  it.  By  means  of  your  kindness  in  sending 
me  your  original  apparatus,  (the  only  one  which,  as  far  as 
I  am  informed,  has  hitherto  been  constructed)  I  had  it  in 
my  power,  early  in  the  month  of  June,  to  repeat  your  experi- 
ments in  my  course  of  public  lectures.  Large  numbers  of 
intelligent  persons  attended,  in  addition  to  the  classes,  and 
the  results  gave  great  pleasure  and  satisfaction.  My  health 
being,  at  that  time,  very  feeble,  it  was  not  in  my  power  to 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  103 

pursue  the  subject  to  the  extent  which  I  had  intended,  and 
expecting  to  resume  it,  I  had  postponed  the  writing  of  a 
notice  of  your  instrument,  hoping  that  by  and  by,  I  could 
do  it  more  to  my  own  satisfaction.  But  as  no  one  else  ap- 
pears to  have  repeated  your  experiments,  I  have  concluded, 
even  at  this  late  moment,  to  throw  a  hasty  notice  into  the 
Journal,  although  it  has  not  been  in  my  power  to  add  any- 
thing to  the  experiments  performed  in  June. 

I  can  say  with  truth  that  I  consider  your  Deflagrator 
as  the  finest  present  made  to  this  department  of  knowledge, 
since  the  discovery  of  the  Pile  by  Volta,  and  of  the  trough 
by  Cruickshank.  The  vessels  being  filled  with  the  fluid 
before  hand,  prevents  any  haste  or  confusion,  and  the  advan- 
tage which  your  arrangement  gives  the  operator,  of  immers- 
ing, at  one  quick  movement,  the  whole  of  an  extensive  series, 
is  very  great.  Being  perfectly  ready,  and  with  the  poles  in 
his  hand,  the  teacher  only  giving  a  signal  to  his  assistant  to 
immerse  the  coils,  instantly  directs  the  whole  power  to  the 
desired  point,  and  produces  results,  which  both  in  brilliancy 
and  energy,  totally  surpass  anything  before  effected  by  the 
same  surface  of  metal,  arranged  in  the  same  number  of  com- 
binations. This  will  appear  the  more  remarkable,  when  it  is 
remembered  that  your  apparatus  produced  these  effects  with- 
out insulation.  Although,  through  your  civility,  I  have  just 
received  the  glass  jars  by  which  you  insulate  your  coils,  I 
have  not  yet  been  able  to  use  them,  and  can  therefore  speak 
only  of  the  results  obtained  without  them. 

With  your  eighty  coils  of  fourteen  inches  by  six,  for  the 
copper,  and  nine  by  six  for  the  zinc,  I  obtained  effects  which, 
as  to  everything  that  related  to  intense  heat  and  light,  and 
brilliant  combustion,  far  surpassed  the  powers  of  a  battery 
of  the  common  form  of  six  hundred  and  twenty  pairs  of 
plates — one  hundred  and  fifty  pairs  of  which,  of  six  inches 
square,  are  insulated  by  glass  partitions — one  hundred  pairs 


104  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

of  the  same  size,  and  three  hundred  of  four  inches  square,  are 
insulated  by  resin  and  the  rest,  either  by  Wedgewood's  ware 
or  by  resin,  making  in  the  whole  a  battery  with  a  surface 
of  thirty-six  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighty  square 
inches.  Yours  has  a  surface  of  only  twenty-two  thousand 
and  eighty  square  inches,  but  even  without  insulation  it  is 
incomparably  more  powerful  than  the  other  with  that  advan- 
tage. This  is  the  most  singular  circumstance  connected 
with  your  new  apparatus,  and  which  goes  far  to  shake  our 
previous  theoretical  opinions,  if  not  to  support  your  own. 

I  repeated  every  important  experiment  stated  in  your 
memoir,  and  with  results  so  similar,  that  it  is  scarcely  neces- 
sary to  relate  them.  The  combustion  of  the  metals  was 
brilliant  beyond  everything  which  I  had  witnessed  before, 
and  the  ignition  of  the  charcoal  points  was  so  intense,  as  to 
equal  the  brilliancy  of  the  sun;  The  light  was  perfectly  in- 
tolerable to  eyes  of  only  common  strength.  If  I  were  to 
name  any  metallic  substance  which  burned  with  more  than 
common  energy,  it  would  be  a  common  brass  pin,  which, 
when  held  in  the  forceps  of  one  pole,  and  touched  to  the 
charcoal  point  on  the  other,  was  consumed  with  such  energy, 
that  it  might  be  said  literally  to  vanish  in  flame. 

The  light  produced  between  the  charcoal  points  when 
immersed  beneath  acids,  oils,  alcohol,  ether,  water,  &c.  was 
very  intense,  and  platina  melted  in  air  as  readily  as  wax  in 
the  blaze  of  a  candle.  It  is  a  very  great  advantage  of  your 
Deflagrator  that  we  can  suspend  the  operation  at  any 
moment,  with  the  same  facility  with  which  it  was  commenced. 
A  look,  directed  to  the  assistant,  is  sufficient  to  raise  the  coils 
out  of  the  fluid.  All  action  instantly  ceases,  neither  the 
metal  nor  the  fluid  are  wasting  any  farther,  and  the  lecturer 
is  therefore  at  ease  while  he  illustrates  and  reasons,  and  when 
he  is  ready  and  not  before,  he  proceeds  to  his  next  experi- 
ment. In  the  meantime,  the  instrument,  during  a  certain 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  105 

period,  rather  gains  than  loses  strength,  by  the  raising  of  the 
coils.  It  seems  as  if  the  imponderable  fluids,  partially  ex- 
hausted from  it  by  its  continued  action,  had  time  again  to 
flow  in  from  surrounding  objects,  and  thus  to  impart  new 
energy.  I  found  the  power  of  the  instrument  to  last  for 
several  days,  although  declining,  and  the  same  charcoal 
points,  when  well  prepared,  would  also  continue  to  operate  for 
several  days.  When  the  coils,  after  immersion,  had  been  sus- 
pended, for  some  hours,  in  the  air,  a  coating  of  green  oxid  or 
carbonat  of  copper  always  formed  on  one  part  of  the  outside 
of  the  copper  coils,  and  on  the  same  part  in  all,  but  no  where 
else.  If  I  do  not  misremember,  it  collected  next  to  the  nega- 
tive pole,  but  was,  of  course,  always  removed  by  the  next  im- 
mersion, though  it  was  formed  again  at  the  next  suspension. 

One  circumstance  occurred  during  these  experiments, 
which  demands  farther  attention. 

In  the  hope  of  uniting  the  power  of  your  Deflagrator, 
with  that  of  the  common  galvanic  battery,  I  connected  your 
instrument  with  the  powerful  one  mentioned  above.  Both 
instruments,  when  separately  used,  acted,  at  the  time,  with 
great  energy,  producing  both  their  appropriate  and  com- 
mon effects,  in  a  very  decided  manner;  but,  on  connecting 
by  the  proper  poles,  the  battery  of  six  hundred  and  twenty 
pairs,  with  the  deflagrator  of  eighty  coils,  I  was  greatly  sur- 
prised and  disappointed,  at  finding  the  power  of  both  instru- 
ments so  completely  paralyzed,  that,  at  the  points  where  a 
moment  before,  and  when  separate,  a  stream  of  light  and 
heat,  hardly  to  be  endured  by  the  eye,  was  poured  forth — 
now,  when  connected,  both  instruments  could  scarcely  pro- 
duce the  minutest  spark.  On  separating  the  instruments, 
they  both  resumed  their  activity;  on  again  connecting  them, 
it  was  again  destroyed,  and  so  on,  as  often  as  the  experiment 
was  made.  While  they  were  in  connexion,  provided  the  coils 
were  lifted  out  of  the  acid,  so  as  to  hang  in  the  air  merely, 


106  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

then  the  power  of  the  common  galvanic  battery  would  pass 
through  the  Deflagrator,  which  appeared  to  act  simply  as  a 
conductor,  and  as  might  have  been  expected,  when  so  ex- 
tensive a  conductor  was  used,  the  power  of  the  common  bat- 
tery was,  in  this  case,  considerably  diminished,  while  that 
of  the  Deflagrator  did  not  act  at  all. 

If,  while  things  were  in  this  situation,  the  coils  of  the 
Deflagrato^  without  being  plunged,  were  lowered  so  far  as 
merely  to  dip  their  inferior  extremities,  say  only  one  fourth 
of  an  inch  in  the  acid,  the  communication  was  immediately 
arrested,  and  all  effect  destroyed  almost  as  completely,  as 
when  the  coils  were  wholly  immersed.  Thus  it  appears 
that  the  inability  to  act,  in  connexion  with  the  common  gal- 
vanic battery,  depends  upon  the  relation  of  the  fluid  and 
metal,  and  not  upon  that  of  the  metals  merely.  These  ex- 
periments should  be  repeated,  with  the  aid  of  the  insulating 
glasses,  placed  so  as  to  receive  the  coils  of  your  machine. 
I  should  be  very  curious  to  know  whether  the  effects  would 
be  the  same ;  and  as  I  now  have  the  glasses,  I  shall  as  soon 
as  possible,  try  this  experiment.  We  must  look  to  you,  Sir, 
for  the  explanation  of  this  singular  incompatibility  between 
the  two  instruments.  At  present,  I  confess  myself  unable 
to  explain  it.  It  may,  very  possibly,  lead  to  important  re- 
sults, and  may  have  a  bearing,  such  as  I  have  not  now  time 
to  discuss,  on  your  own  peculiar  theory. 

I  would  state  that  the  mode  of  connecting  the  two  bat- 
teries was  varied  in  every  form  which  occurred,  not  only  to 
myself,  but  to  several  able  scientific  gentlemen,  who  were 
present  at  these  experiments,  and  who  were  equally  with 
myself  surprised  and  confounded  by  their  results. 

I  congratulate  you  upon  the  brilliant  additions  which  you 
have  made  to  our  experimental  means,  in  this  department 
of  knowledge;  along  with  your  invention  of  the  compound 
blowpipe,  they  fairly  entitle  you  to  the  gratitude  of  the  scien- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  107 

tific  world,  notwithstanding  the  uncandid  attempts  which,  in 
relation  to  the  blowpipe,  I  am  sorry  to  see,  are  still  perse- 
vered in,  to  deprive  you  of  the  credit  which  you  so  richly 
deserve. 

I  remain,  as  ever,  your  friend  and  servant, 

B.  SILLIMAN." 

In  reply  to  which  Hare  wrote: 

Nov.  5,  1821. 


"  My  dear  sir: 

I  have  received  your  letter  on  the  Deflagrator  which  I 
sent  you  last  spring.  I  fear  you  have  done  me  more  than 
justice. 

I  should  not  be  surprised,  if  the  coils  when  insulated  by 
the  glass  jars,  should  form  a  circuit  with  your  other  appara- 
tus, better,  than  when  immersed  in  the  troughs.  You  will 
observe  that  when  recently  lifted  from  out  of  the  acid,  the 
air  insulates  the  coils  ;  while  the  pieces  of  wood  used  to  keep 
the  copper  from  touching  the  zinc,  act  to  a  certain  extent 
like  the  moistened  cloth  in  Volta's  original  pile.  —  When  in 
this  situation,  the  poles  will  affect  an  electromotor  much  more 
powerfully,  than  when  the  coils  are  immersed;  though  in  one 
case,  the  igniting  power  will  burn  a  platina  wire  of  one 
eighth  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  in  the  other  it  will  not  burn 
Dutch  gold  leaf. 

In  my  memoir,  on  a  new  theory  of  galvanism,  is  the  fol- 
lowing passage:  'According  to  my  view,  caloric  and  elec- 
tricity may  be  distinguished  by  the  following  characteristics. 
The  former  permeates  all  matter  more  or  less,  though  with 
very  different  degrees  of  facility.  It  radiates  through  air 
with  immeasurable  celerity,  and  distributing  itself  through 
the  interior  of  bodies,  communicates  a  reciprocally  repellent 
power,  to  atoms,  but  not  to  masses.  Electricity  does  not 
radiate  in  or  through  any  matter,  and  while  it  pervades  some 
bodies,  as  metals,  with  almost  infinite  velocity;  by  others  it 


108  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

is  so  far  from  being  conducted,  that  it  can  pass  through  them 
only  by  a  fracture  or  perforation.  Distributing  itself  of 
choice  over  surfaces  only,  it  causes  reaction  between  masses, 
but  not  between  the  particles  of  the  same  mass.  The  disposi- 
tion of  the  last  mentioned  principle  (electricity)  to  get  off 
by  neighbouring  conductors,  and  of  the  other  (caloric)  to 
combine  with  the  adjoining  matter  or  to  escape  by  radiation, 
would  prevent  them  from  being  collected  at  the  positive  pole, 
if  not  in  combination  with  each  other.  Were  it  not  for  a 
modification  of  their  properties  consequent  to  some  such 
union,  they  could  not,  in  piles  of  thousands  of  pairs,  be  carried 
forwards  through  the  open  air  and  moistures,  the  one  so  well 
calculated  to  conduct  away  electricity,  the  other  so  favour- 
able to  the  radiation  of  caloric. 

Pursuing  the  same  subject  in  a  subsequent  memoir,  also 
published  in  your  Journal,  I  thus  expressed  myself,  'As  yet 
no  adequate  reasons  have  been  given  why,  in  operating  with 
the  pile,  it  is  not  necessary,  as  in  the  process  of  Van  Marum 
and  Wollaston,  to  enclose  the  wires  in  glass  or  sealing  wax, 
in  order  to  make  the  electricity  emanate  from  a  point  within 
a  conducting  fluid.  The  absence  of  this  necessity  is  accounted 
for,  according  to  my  hypothesis  by  the  indisposition  which  the 
electric  fluid  has  to  quit  the  caloric  in  union  with  it,  and  the 
almost  absolute  incapacity  which  caloric  has  to  pass  through 
fluids  unless  by  circulation.  I  conceive  that  in  galvanic  com- 
binations, electro-caloric  may  circulate  through  the  fluids 
from  the  positive  to  the  negative  surface,  and  through  the 
metal  from  the  negative  to  the  positive.  In  the  one  case 
caloric  subdues  the  disposition  which  electricity  has  to  diffuse 
itself  through  fluids,  and  carries  it  into  circulation.  In  the 
other,  as  metals  are  excellent  conductors  of  caloric,  the  pro- 
digious power  which  electricity  has  to  pervade  them  agree- 
ably to  any  attractions  which  it  may  exercise  operates  almost 
without  restraint.  This  is  fully  exemplified  in  my  galvanic 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  109 

deflagrator,  where  eighty  pairs  are  suspended  in  two  recipi- 
ents, forty  successively  in  each,  and  yet  decompose  potash 
with  the  utmost  rapidity,  and  produce  an  almost  intolerable 
sensation  when  excited  only  by  fresh  river  water.  I  have 
already  observed  that  the  reason  why  galvanic  apparatus 
composed  of  pairs  consisting  each  of  one  copper  and  one  zinc 
plate,  have  not  acted  well  without  insulation;  was  because 
electro-caloric  could  retrocede  in  the  negative,  as  well  as 
advance  in  the  positive  direction/ 

Agreeably  to  these  views,  in  order  to  prevent  the  escape 
of  the  electricity  put  into  motion  by  the  series,  the  caloric 
must  bear  a  certain  proportion  to  it.  It  is  to  be  inferred,  con- 
sistently with  the  same  hypothesis,  that  this  proportion  did 
not  exist  in  the  series  which  you  connected  with  the  deflagrator. 
The  fluid  presented  to  the  latter  had  too  much  electricity  in 
it;  and  hence  instead  of  passing  into  circulation,  escaped. 
When  the  coils  were  suspended  in  air,  this  escape  was  less 
favored  than  when  they  were  covered  by  the  diluted  acid. 

Faithfully  yours, 

ROBERT  HARE." 

Many  of  the  minor  communications,  sent  from  time  to 
time  to  Silliman  by  Hare,  possessed  more  than  common  value. 
For  instance,  on  one  occasion  he  told  how  he  had  infused 
alcohol  with  alkanet  root,  when  to  his  astonishment  the  solu- 
tion instead  of  being  red  was  blue  in  color.  It  occurred  to 
him  that  the  alcohol  had  stood  over  pearlash,  so  a  second 
solution  with  pure  alcohol  was  promptly  made.  The  tincture 
was  red  in  color,  which  was  rendered  blue  by  a  drop  of  an 
alkaline  solution.  So  he  proposed  to  use  alkanet  in  place 
of  litmus.  "  The  alkanet  infusion  must  be  made  blue  by 
an  alkali  and  restored  by  an  acid,  instead  of  being  as  in  the 
case  of  litmus  reddened  by  an  acid,  and  restored  by  an  alkali. 
Thus  as  the  one  is  indirectly  a  test  for  alkalies,  so  is  the  other 
for  acids.  In  making  the  infusion  of  alkanet  blue  for  this 


110  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

purpose,  the  smallest  quantity  of  alkali  should  be  used,  which 
will  accomplish  the  change,  as  in  that  case  less  acid  will  be 
requisite  to  restore  the  color,  and  thus  manifest  its  presence 
in  any  solution  to  be  tested." 

He  also  observed  that  the  silver  crystals  which  form  spon- 
taneously when  a  silver  coin  is  dissolved  in  nitric  acid,  diluted 
no  more  than  is  necessary  for  the  solution  to  proceed  actively, 
give  no  trace  of  copper  when  it  is  redissolved.  He  wondered 
whether  this  would  not  be  a  "  good  preliminary  step  in  re- 
fining silver,  or  for  getting  the  nitrate  for  lunar  caustic  or 
as  a  test."  He  tells,  too,  that  upon  saturating  strong  nitric 
acid,  gotten  from  dry  niter,  with  ammonium  carbonate  in  a 
retort,  the  resulting  salt  was  procured  in  a  compact  form 
and  upon  distillation  forthwith  yielded  nitrous  oxide.  He 
used  as  containing  vessels  for  the  gas,  bags  of  leather  soaked 
with  boiled  linseed  oil. 

An  exceedingly  important  correspondence  between  the 
two  friends  grew  out  of  Hare's  discoveries;  indeed,  so  inter- 
esting are  the  letters  that  no  account  of  Hare's  life  would  be 
complete  which  omits  them.  The  following  are  noteworthy : 

Hare  to  Silliman: 

"  My  dear  Sir:  '  Phila"  March  5>  1822' 

In  reply  to  your  enquiries  on  the  subject  of  the  Calori- 
motor,  and  the  expediency  of  employing  one  during  your 
lectures,  it  may  be  proper  to  mention,  that  the  phenomena 
produced  by  it  are  more  agreeable  to  the  eye  and  there- 
fore more  popular,  than  any  which  can  be  performed  with- 
out greater  difficulty.  By  the  time  the  Calorimotor  is  com- 
pletely immerged  in  the  acid  solution,  the  wire  in  the  forceps 
is  rendered  white  hot,  and  takes  fire,  emitting  the  most  bril- 
liant sparks.  In  the  interim,  an  explosion  usually  gives 
notice  of  the  extrication  of  hydrogen  in  a  quantity  adequate 
to  reach  the  burning  wire.  Immediately  after  the  explosion, 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  111 

the  hydrogen  is  reproduced  with  less  intermixture  of  air,  and 
rekindles,  corruscating  from  among  the  forty  interstices,  and 
passing  from  one  side  of  the  machine  to  the  other  in  opposite 
directions,  and  at  various  times,  so  that  the  combinations  are 
innumerable.  The  flame  assumes  various  hues,  from  the  solu- 
tion of  more  or  less  of  the  metals,  and  a  blazing  froth,  rolls 
over  the  sides  of  the  recipient.  When  the  calorimotor  is 
withdrawn  from  the  acid  solution,  the  surface  appears  for 
many  seconds  like  a  sheet  of  flaming  foam. 

I  refer  you  to  the  last  paragraph  of  my  memoir  on  the 
Deflagrator.,  for  some  results  obtained  by  calorimotors,  of 
different  sizes,  which  I  deem  to  be  scientifically  important. 

With  respect  to  the  comparative  powers  of  concentric 
coils,  of  copper  and  zinc  and  of  plates  of  those  metals  alternat- 
ing; if  only  a  few  pairs  are  to  be  employed,  I  believe  it  a 
matter  of  indifference  which  construction  we  adopt.  I  have, 
however,  found  to  my  cost  that  it  is  far  from  being  so  when 
the  series  is  numerous.  Last  summer  I  constructed  an  ap- 
paratus of  one  hundred  pairs,  each  containing  six  alternated 
plates,  three  of  each  metal.  On  trial,  it  proved  much  less 
powerful  than  the  Deflagrator  sent  to  you,  though  the  zinc 
surface  in  each  pair,  was  one  seventh  larger,  and  the  number 
of  the  series  one  fourth  more  extensive.  The  exposure  to 
each  other,  of  the  copper  and  zinc  plates  terminating  the 
different  pairs,  struck  me  as  disadvantageous.  I  therefore, 
removed  the  external  zinc  plate  in  each,  so  that  the  pair 
afterwards,  consisted  severally  of  three  copper  and  two  zinc 
plates,  and  were  bounded  by  copper  towards  both  poles. 
There  was  some  comparative  gain  by  this  change,  as  the 
power  was  not  lessened  in  proportion  to  the  diminution  of 
zinc  surface.  Still  the  result  was  unsatisfactory.  I  then 
had  some  boxes  made  with  partitions  of  glass,  to  be  inter- 
posed between  the  pairs  of  the  series.  These  were  employed 
as  is  usual  with  galvanic  troughs,  made  with  partitions,  ex- 


112  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

cepting  the  deficiency  of  bottoms,  and  their  being  suspended 
to  the  beams,  so  as  to  be  simultaneously  immersed  with  the 
galvanic  surfaces  which  they  were  intended  to  insulate.  The 
power  of  the  series  was  not  amended  by  this  contrivance. 
It  had  often  occurred  to  me,  that  surrounding  the  zinc  by 
copper,  might  be  an  indispensable  feature  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  my  Deflagrator  of  coils.  In  order  to  test  the  cor- 
rectness of  this  surmise,  I  proceeded  to  form  an  apparatus 
of  pairs,  each  consisting  of  a  case  of  copper,  containing  one 
zinc  plate  of  seven  inches  by  three,  the  size  used,  in  the 
apparatus  above  described.  In  these  pairs,  as  in  those  con- 
trived by  Wollaston,  the  edges  of  the  zinc  were  supported  by 
grooved  pieces  of  wood  passing  between  them  and  the  cop- 
per. There  was,  however,  this  apparently  slight,  but  really 
important  difference,  that  the  cases  employed  by  me,  were 
open  at  top  and  bottom,  instead  of  exposing  the  edges  of  the 
zinc  laterally,  as  in  Wollaston's.  One  hundred  galvanic  pairs, 
thus  made,  were  suspended  to  two  beams,  each  holding  fifty. 
Between  each  case,  a  piece  of  pasteboard  soaked  in  shell  lac 
varnish,  was  interposed ;  so  that  the  whole  constituted  a  com- 
pact mass,  into  which  a  fluid  could  not  enter,  unless  through 
the  interstices  purposely  preserved  between  the  copper  and 
zinc.  The  phenomena  produced  by  this  apparatus,  on  im- 
mersion, were  upon  the  whole  more  interesting  than  those 
produced  by  my  original  deflagrator;  especially  in  the  length 
of  the  jet  between  the  poles,  and  the  power  of  permeating 
charcoal.  Yet  the  apparatus  was  comprised  within  one 
eighth  of  the  space,  and  is  not  (in  oxidizable  superficies)  of 
half  the  extent. 

Having  added  three  more  beams,  of  fifty  pairs  each,  to 
my  apparatus,  I  found  the  power  increased  fully  in  the  ratio 
of  the  number.  You  know  that  my  eyes  are  naturally  very 
strong.  The  light  produced  by  the  compound  bkrtvpipe, 
though  I  operated  without  glasses,  only  dazzled  them  for  a 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  113 

time,  and  thitherto  I  had  felt  no  other  inconvenience  from 
my  galvanic  experiments.  Rendered  thus  bold  by  previous 
immunity  I  still  dispensed  with  the  annoyance  of  spectacles. 
In  consequence,  my  eyes,  after  operating  with  the  last  men- 
tioned series  of  two  hundred  and  fifty,  were  on  the  following 
day  so  much  inflamed,  as  to  be  blood  shot,  and  painfully 
susceptible  of  the  day  light.  The  judicious  application  of 
twenty  leeches  to  each  of  the  eye-lids,  pursuant  to  the  advice 
of  my  friend,  Dr.  Dewees,  afforded  me  surprising  relief, 
and  my  eyes  are  now  well  enough  to  finish  this  letter,  though 
a  few  days  since  when  I  began  it,  I  was  under  the  necessity 
of  employing  an  amanuensis. 

By  this  series  of  250,  Barytes  was  deflagrated;  and  the 
Platina  which  supported  it  destroyed  like  pasteboard  before 
an  incandescent  iron.  A  platina  wire  three  sixteenths  of  an 
inch  in  thickness,  was  made  to  flow  like  water.  Iron  of  like 
dimensions  burned  explosively.  When  the  experiments  were 
repeated  before  my  class  of  more  than  three  hundred  pupils, 
and  many  visitors,  there  were  very  few  who  could  bear  the 
light  with  the  naked  eye. 

Much  attention  was  excited  by  the  deflagration  of  a 
stream  of  mercury.  This  was  accomplished  in  the  following 
way.  A  wire  proceeding  from  one  pole  of  the  deflagrator, 
was  introduced  into  some  mercury  held  in  a  glass  basin;  and 
another  wire  proceeding  from  the  other  pole,  into  some  mer- 
cury in  another  vessel,  having  a  capillary  orifice  which  might 
be  closed  by  the  finger  or  a  stopple.  This  last  mentioned 
vessel  with  the  mercury  running  from  it  was  supported  at 
such  a  height  above  the  surface  of  the  mercury  in  the  glass 
basin,  as  to  permit  the  discharge  to  take  place  through  the 
metallic  stream  just  as  the  galvanic  surfaces  were  subjected 
to  the  acid.  The  mercury  deflagrated  explosively. 

The  experiments  may  be  varied,  by  causing  the  stream 
of  mercury  to  fall  on  iron  filings,  or  card  teeth. 


114  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

When  the  phenomena  of  a  series  of  250  pairs  of  7  inches 
by  3,  are  such  as  I  have  described  what  would  be  the  power 
of  a  deflagrator  with  plates,  as  large  as  Children's,  and  as 
numerous  as  Davy's? 

Probably  the  most  useful  mode  of  applying  such  instru- 
ments to  analysis,  would  be  to  expose  substances  to  the  dis- 
charge in  vacuo  on  carbon.  I  observed  that  after  iron  and 
charcoal  were  ignited  between  the  poles  during  a  few  seconds, 
under  an  exhausted  receiver,  on  admitting  the  air,  a  flash 
took  place,  and  a  yellowish  red  fume  appeared  which  con- 
densed on  the  glass.  It  would  seem  the  iron  was  volatilized, 
and  that  the  admission  of  air  oxidized  the  vapour. 

A  deflagrator  of  250  or  300  pairs  is  found  to  produce 
torture  when  applied  for  a  short  time  to  the  back  of  the 
hand,  and  it  is  difficult  for  the  sufferer  to  believe,  that  his 
skin  has  not  been  cauterized.  One  of  my  pupils  showed  me 
a  slight  excoriation,  which  he  considered  as  arising  from  it, 
on  the  spot  where  the  positive  pole  had  touched  him.  Be- 
tween the  excitement  of  acid,  and  water,  the  difference  of 
power  in  affecting  the  flesh,  is  far  less  than  with  metals,  char- 
coal or  potash.  Upon  these  substances,  the  excitement  by 
water  has  no  influence,  but  to  the  sensation  is  painful,  though 
it  may  be  borne  longer,  than  when  acid  is  used.  Neither 
is  the  shock  greater,  in  any  sensible  degree,  at  the  moment 
of  immersion,  than  afterwards.  The  effect  upon  the  elec- 
trometer, is  at  least  as  great,  with  water,  as  with  acid.  Im- 
mediately over  any  of  the  most  turgid  veins,  where  the  skin 
is  tender,  as  on  the  back  of  the  hand,  will  be  found  the  greatest 
sensibility.  The  positive  pole,  is  most  capable  of  producing 
pain.  This  I  had  frequent  opportunities  of  ascertaining,  by 
the  observations  of  those  who,  now  knowing  how  to  distinguish 
it  from  the  negative  pole,  could  not  have  been  biassed  in 
their  opinion.  Upon  a  common  gold  leaf  electrometer,  a 
deflagrator  of  300  pairs  will  have  no  influence.  I  have  con- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  115 

structed  one  by  means  of  a  bottle,  a  single  slip  of  gold  leaf, 
and  a  knob  at  right  angles  to  it,  supported  by  a  screw,  so  as 
to  be  easily  moved  nearer  to  or  further  from  the  leaf.  The 
wire  from  which  the  latter  is  suspended,  passes  through  a 
cork  in  the  neck  of  the  bottle.  The  screw  enters  through  a  nut, 
cemented  into  a  hole  drilled  on  one  side.  When  the  wire 
which  supports  the  leaf,  is  fastened  to  one  of  the  poles,  every 
time  the  screw  is  touched  by  the  other  the  leaf  will  strike  the 
ball  provided  the  distance  be  very  small,  perhaps  not  greater 
than  the  tenth  of  an  inch.  This  result  was  obtained  at  a  greater 
distance  when  the  coils  had  been  recently  withdrawn  from  the 
acid,  than  when  they  are  covered  by  it.  I  have  known  a  piece 
of  dry  sealing  wax,  as  big  as  a  chestnut,  without  friction,  to 
affect  this  electrometer  as  much  as  my  largest  deflagrator. 

A  magnetic  needle  was  very  powerfully  disturbed  by  the 
deflagrator,  under  all  its  forms.  The  celerity  with  which 
the  galvanic  surfaces  may  be  immersed  in,  or  withdrawn 
from  the  acid,  contributes  much  to  economy,  and  to  the  case 
of  the  operator  in  galvano-magnetic  enquiries. 

The  prevalent  notion,  that  the  intense  light  and  heat 
produced  by  galvanic  action,  are  results  secondary  to  elec- 
tricity, the  presence  of  which  is  at  times  only  indirectly  dis- 
coverable, the  more  surprises  me;  since  it  does  not  in  the 
smallest  degree,  elucidate  the  primary  operation,  by  which 
this  principle  is  alleged  to  be  evolved.  According  to  some 
philosophers,  the  contact  accompanied  by  their  solution, 
evolves  electricity  in  quantity  sufficient  to  extricate  heat  and 
light  from  a  wire  made  the  medium  of  transmission.  They 
do  not,  however,  explain  why  the  electricity  does  not,  accord- 
ing to  all  its  known  habitudes,  rapidly  escape  through  the 
water,  as  fast  as  generated,  instead  of  proceeding  from  one 
plate  to  another,  in  order  to  pass  off  through  a  second  portion 
of  the  same  fluid.  Would  it  not  be  more  philosophical  to 
suppose  that  the  heat  and  light  result  directly  from  the 


116  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

causes  supposed  to  produce  them  indirectly;  especially,  as 
we  actually  see  them  in  a  high  degree  of  intensity,  while  the 
characteristic  agency  of  the  principle,  by  which  they  are  sup- 
posed to  be  produced,  is  but  feebly  perceived,  or  imperfectly 
demonstrated?  In  the  case  of  a  single  galvanic  pair,  elec- 
tricity has  never  been  alleged  discoverable,  unless  by  the 
questionable  assistance  of  condensers. 

Besides,  without  supposing  caloric  and  light  to  circulate 
from  the  apparatus  through  the  conjunctive  wire,  those  who 
consider  them  as  material,  will  find  it  impossible  to  account 
for  the  durability  of  the  ignition.  If  it  be  supposed  that 
these  principles  are  extricated  from  the  metal,  only  by  elec- 
tricity passing  through  it,  their  repeated  or  incessant  ex- 
penditure, ought  sooner  or  later  to  exhaust  the  metal,  and 
render  it  incapable  of  further  ignition. 

On  this  subject,  especially,  as  connected  with  magnetism, 
and  mechanical  electricity,  you  shall  hear  from  me  again. 

R.  H." 

"  Yale  College,  New  Haven, 
"My  dear  Sir:  "April  9th,  1822. 

In  my  letter  of  October  23,  1821,  addressed  to  you  re- 
specting the  experiments  which  I  had  performed  with  your 
deflagrator,  I  mentioned  the  incompatibility  which  I  dis- 
covered to  exist  between  your  apparatus  and  the  common 
galvanic  battery.  I  have  recently  repeated  these  experi- 
ments with  some  additions  and  variations  which  I  now  take 
the  liberty  of  stating  to  you. 

In  the  trials  made  last  October  with  your  instrument, 
the  coils  were  used  without  glasses,  being  immersed  in  a  fluid 
contained  in  a  common  recipient  in  those  recently  performed, 
and  which  I  shall  now  relate,  the  metallic  coils  were  in- 
dividually insulated,  for  they  were  immersed  in  the  cylin- 
drical glasses  belonging  to  the  apparatus,  it  being  previously 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  117 

connected  with  the  common  galvanic  battery  by  its  proper 
poles  as  described  in  my  former  letter ;  the  effects  were  how- 
ever in  no  respect  different  from  those  before  observed,  so 
that  the  insulation  of  the  coils  appears  to  be  a  fact  of  no 
importance.  In  the  first  experiment  the  deflagrator  being 
connected  by  its  proper  poles  with  a  galvanic  battery  of  300 
pairs  of  four  inch  plates  cemented  in  mahogany  troughs,  and 
interposed  between  the  two  rows  of  the  deflagrator,  of  forty 
coils  each,  lost  all  its  power,  and  the  effect  produced  was  very 
much  inferior  to  that  of  the  battery  alone,  for  in  fact  the 
spark  was  hardly  perceptible. 

The  chemical  or  decomposing  powers  of  the  common  gal- 
vanic battery,  were  also  found  to  be  suspended  by  the  con- 
nexion— for  the  300  pairs  which  usually  decompose  water, 
salts,  &c.  with  decisive  energy,  now  produced  in  water  scarcely 
a  bubble  of  gas,  and  hardly  affected  dilute  infusion  of  purple 
cabbage.  The  power  of  giving  a  shock  was  also  destroyed 
by  the  connexion. 

When  the  coils  were  raised  out  of  the  fluid  and  suspended 
only  in  the  air,  they  acted  as  conductors  of  the  power  of  the 
common  battery,  which  now  produced  all  its  appropriate 
effects,  although,  even  in  this  case,  the  galvanic  influence 
appeared  somewhat  diminished,  which  would  of  course  arise 
both  from  the  extent  of  the  conducting  surface,  and  from 
the  fact  that  a  part  of  the  substance,  namely,  the  wedges 
of  moist  wood,  interposed  between  the  metals  was  an  im- 
perfect conductor. 

These  experiments  (including  the  former  trials)  were 
made  with  different  combinations  from  620  pairs  down  to  20, 
and  were  attended,  uniformly  with  the  same  result;  viz:  an 
almost  entire  suspension  of  the  power  of  both  instruments. 

In  one  of  the  experiments,  twenty-five  pairs  of  the  zinc 
and  copper  plates,  six  inches  square,  connected  by  slips  of 
copper  and  suspended  from  a  beam  of  wood  were  immersed 


118  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

in  a  trough  without  partitions  filled  with  an  acid  liquor,  and 
the  connexion  being  formed  with  the  deflagrator,  the  power 
of  the  latter  instrument  was  found  to  be  completely  destroyed 
— a  similar  result  was  obtained  by  a  battery  consisting  of 
fifty  triads  of  plates  two  inches  square,  each  zinc  surface 
being  coated  by  a  copper  plate  after  the  manner  of  Dr. 
Wollaston — the  object  of  this  arrangement  was,  to  ascer- 
tain, whether  a  battery,  in  which  the  arrangement  of  metals 
was  similar,  to  that  in  the  deflagrator,  would  produce  a  result 
in  any  respect  different  from  that  of  the  common  battery; 
the  effect  however  was  precisely  the  same.  In  most  of  the 
experiments  the  connexion  of  the  poles  was  occasionally  re- 
versed. This  circumstance  however  made  no  difference  in 
the  result.  A  feeble  spark  was  obtained  as  before.  Every 
thing  tended  to  countenance  the  opinion  that  the  interposi- 
tion of  the  common  galvanic  battery  operated  simply  as  an 
impediment — that  it  was  completely  inert  in  relation  to  the 
deflagrator,  and  the  deflagrator  in  relation  to  it, — that  the 
power  of  neither  would  pass  through  the  other,  and  conse- 
quently that  each  was  to  be  regarded,  with  respect  to  the 
other,  simply  as  so  much  interposed  matter,  constituting  a 
conductor  more  or  less  imperfect.  To  bring  this  conjecture 
to  a  decision,  the  number  of  interposed  plates  was  constantly 
diminished,  until  the  connexion  was  formed  by  no  more  than 
twenty  pairs.  In  this  state  of  things,  the  power  of  the  de- 
flagrator passed  freely,  although  somewhat  diminished.  The 
connexion  was  now  formed  with  smaller  and  smaller  number 
of  pairs ;  the  activity  of  the  deflagrator  in  the  mean  time  rap- 
idly increased,  until  the  moment,  when  only  one  pair  was  em- 
ployed (this  pair  being,  however,  like  the  others,  immersed  in 
an  acid  fluid) ,  then  there  was  no  perceptible  impediment,  and 
the  effect  was  as  brilliant  as  when  nothing  was  interposed. 

I  have  thought  these  curious  facts  worthy  of  being  pre- 
served, and  I  have  addressed  them  to  you  with  the  hope  that 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  119 

you  will  be  able  to  throw  some  light  upon  this  singular 
anomaly,  which  to  me  appears  to  be  incapable  of  explana- 
tion, in  consistency  with  the  received  theories  of  galvanism. 
Hoping  that  you  will,  through  the  medium  of  the  journal, 
favour  the  public  with  your  views  upon  this  subject 
I  remain  with  very  great  respect, 

Your  friend  and  servant, 

B.  SILLIMAN." 
Again,  Silliman  to  Hare: 

"  Yale  College,  New  Haven, 
"My  dear  Sir,  «  May  10,  1822. 

In  your  memoir  on  your  Galvanic  Deflagrator,  when 
speaking  of  the  ignition  produced  by  that  instrument,  in  char- 
coal points,  you  remark:  '  If  the  intensity  of  the  light,  did 
not  produce  an  optical  deception,  by  its  distressing  influence 
upon  the  organs  of  vision,  the  charcoal  assumed  a  pasty  con- 
sistence, as  if  in  a  state  approaching  to  fusion. 

*  That  charcoal  should  be  thus  softened  without  being 
destroyed  by  the  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere,  will  not  appear 
strange,  when  the  power  of  galvanism  in  reversing  chemical 
affinities  is  remembered ;  and  were  it  otherwise  the  air  could 
have  no  access,  first  because  of  the  excessive  rarefaction,  and 
in  the  next  place  as  I  suspect  on  account  of  the  volatilization 
of  the  Carbon,  forming  about  it  a  circumambient  atmosphere. 
This  last  mentioned  impression  arose  from  observing,  that 
when  the  experiment  was  performed  in  vacuo,  there  was  a 
lively  scintillation,  as  if  the  Carbon  in  an  aeriform  state, 
acted  as  a  supporter  of  combustion  on  the  metal." 

This  paragraph,  at  the  time  of  perusing  it,  excited  in 
my  mind  a  lively  interest,  and  a  strong  wish  to  see  so  fine  a 
result,  as  the  fusion  of  charcoal,  confirmed  by  an  experi- 
ment admitting  of  no  question.  What  you  threw  out  by  way 
of  surmise,  and  without  positively  affirming  it,  I  think  I  am 
now  able  to  substantiate. 


120  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

During  the  three  last  weeks  of  March,  I  was  much  occu- 
pied with  your  deflagrator.  The  medium  of  communication, 
between  the  poles,  was  generally,  charcoal  prepared  for  the 
purpose,  by  intensely  igniting  pieces  of  very  dry  mahogany, 
buried  in  a  crucible,  beneath  white  siliceous  sand.  The  pieces 
of  charcoal  thus  prepared,  were  about  half  an  inch  in  diam- 
eter, and  from  one  and  half  inch,  to  three  inches  in  length; 
they  were  made,  as  usual,  to  taper  to  a  point,  and  the  cylindri- 
cal ends  were  placed  in  the  sockets  connected  with  the  flexible 
lead  tubes,  which  form  the  polar  terminations  of  the  series. 

The  metallic  coils  of  the  deflagrator,  being  immersed,  on 
bringing  the  charcoal  points  into  contact,  and  then  withdraw- 
ing them  a  little,  the  most  intense  ignition  took  place,  and  I 
was  surprised  to  observe  that  the  charcoal  point  of  the  posi- 
tive pole,  instantly  shot  out,  in  the  direction  of  the  longer 
axis,  and  thus  grew  rapidly  in  length;  it  usually  increased, 
from  the  10th  to  the  8th  of  an  inch,  and  in  some  instances 
attained  nearly  %th  of  an  inch  in  length,  before  it  broke  off 
and  fell.  Yesterday  and  to-day,  I  have  carefully  repeated 
these  experiments,  and  in  no  instance,  has  this  shoot  from 
the  positive  pole  failed  to  appear.  It  continues  to  increase 
rapidly,  as  long  as  the  contiguous  points  of  charcoal  are  held 
with  such  care,  that  they  do  not  strike  against  each  other. 
When  they  impinge  with  a  slight  shock,  then  the  projecting 
shoot  or  knob  breaks  off  and  falls,  and  is  instantly  succeeded 
by  another.  The  form  of  the  projecting  shoot,  is  sometimes 
cylindrical,  but  more  generally  it  is  that  of  a  knob,  con- 
nected with  the  main  piece  of  charcoal,  by  a  slender  neck, 
much  resembling  some  stalagmites.  It  is  always  a  clear 
addition  to  the  length  of  the  charcoal,  which  does  not  suffer 
any  waste  except  on  the  parts,  laterally  contiguous  to  the 
projecting  point. 

The  charcoal  of  the  negative  pole,  in  the  mean  time,  under- 
goes a  change  precisely  the  reverse.  Its  point  instantly  dis- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  ,      121 

appears,  and  a  crater-shaped  cavity  appears  in  its  place;  it 
suffers  a  rapid  diminution  in  the  direction  of  its  length,  and 
immediately  under  the  projecting  and  increasing  point  of  the 
positive  pole ;  but  it  is  not  diminished,  or  very  little,  on  the 
parts  laterally  contiguous.  If  the  point  of  the  positive  pole 
be  moved  over  the  various  parts  of  the  contiguous  negative 
charcoal,  it  produces  a  crater-shaped  cavity  over  every  place 
where  it  rests,  for  an  instant.  In  every  repetition  of  the 
experiment,  (and  the  repetitions  have  been  numerous,)  this 
result  has  invariably  occurred.  It  appears  as  if  the  matter 
at  the  point  of  the  negative  pole  was  actually  transferred  to 
the  positive,  and  that  the  accumulation  there,  is  produced  by 
a  current  flowing  from  the  negative  to  the  positive,  or  at 
least  by  an  attraction  exerted  in  that  direction,  and  not  in  the 
other.  It  does  not  appear  easy  to  reconcile  this  fact  with 
any  electrical  or  igneous  theory. 

In  order  to  ascertain  whether  the  projection  of  the  char- 
coal at  the  positive  pole  was  caused  by  an  actual  transfer  of 
carbon  from  the  negative,  a  piece  of  metal  was  substituted  for 
the  charcoal  at  the  negative  pole,  and  when  the  two  were 
brought  into  contact,  the  charcoal  point  of  the  positive  pole 
remained  unaltered  in  form,  although  a  little  shortened  by 
the  combustion.  The  experiments  with  the  two  charcoal 
points  were  varied  by  transferring,  that  at  the  positive  end 
(and  on  which  a  projection  was  already  formed)  to  the 
opposite  pole,  and  that  at  the  negative,  and  in  which  a  corre- 
sponding cavity  appeared,  to  the  positive. 

The  result  was,  that  the  cavity  now  placed  at  the  positive 
pole,  disappeared,  and  was  immediately  seen  at  the  negative, 
while  the  projection,  now  placed  at  the  negative  pole,  was 
transferred  to  the  positive.  These  experiments  were  several 
times  repeated,  and  uniformly  with  the  same  result.  They 
seem  to  leave  no  doubt,  that  there  is  a  current  from  the  nega- 
tive to  the  positive  pole,  and  that  carbon  is  actually  trans- 


THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

f erred  by  it  in  that  direction;  if  transferred,  it  must  probably 
be  in  the  state  of  vapour,  since  it  passes  through  the  ignited 
arch  of  flame,  which  is  formed  when  the  points  are  withdrawn 
a  little  distance ;  when  it  arrives  at  the  positive  pole.  It  there 
concretes  in  a  fluid,  or  at  least  in  a  sort  of  "  pasty  "  state. 

But  the  most  interesting  thing  remains  yet  to  be  stated. 
On  examining  with  a  magnifier,  the  projecting  point  of  the 
positive  pole,  it  exhibited  decisive  indications  of  having  under- 
gone a  real  fusion. 

The  projecting  point  or  knob,  was  completely  different 
from  the  charcoal  beneath.  Its  form  was  that  of  a  collection 
of  small  spheres  aggregated;  exhibiting  perfectly,  what  is 
called  in  the  descriptive  language  of  Mineralogy,  botryoidal 
or  mammillary  concretions.-  Its  surface  was  smooth  and 
glossy,  as  if  covered  with  a  varnish;  the  lustre  was  metallic, 
the  colour  inclining  to  grey,  exhibiting  sometimes  iridescent 
hues,  and  it  had  entirely  lost  the  fibrous  structure.  In  short, 
in  colour,  lustre,  and  form,  the  fused  charcoal  bore  the  most 
striking  resemblance  to  many  of  the  beautiful  stalactical  and 
botryoidal  specimens  of  the  brown  haematite.  The  pores 
of  the  charcoal  had  all  disappeared,  and  the  matter  had 
become  sensibly  harder  and  heavier. 

I  repeated  the  experiments,  until  I  collected  a  consid- 
erable quantity  of  these  fused  masses ;  when  they  were  placed 
contiguously,  upon  some  dark  surface,  with  some  pieces  of 
charcoal  near  them,  they  appeared  when  seen  through  a  mag- 
nifier, so  entirely  different  from  the  charcoal,  that  they  would 
never  have  been  suspected  to  have  had  any  connexion  with 
it,  had  it  not  been,  that  occasionally  some  fibres  of  the  char- 
coal adhered  to  the  melted  masses.  The  melted  and  unmelted 
charcoal,  differ  nearly  as  much  in  their  appearance  as  pumice- 
stone  and  obsidian,  and  quite  as  much  as  common  stones  do, 
from  volcanic  scorise,  excepting  only,  in  the  article  of  colour. 
It  is  to  be  understood,  that  the  examination,  is  in  every  in- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  123 

stance,  made  by  means  of  a  good  magnifier,  and  under  the 
direct  light  of  the  sun's  rays,  as  the  differences  are  scarcely 
perceptible  to  the  naked  eye,  especially  in  an  obscure  light. 
The  portions  of  melted  charcoal,  are  so  decidedly  heavier  than 
the  unmelted,  that  when  fragments  of  the  two  of  a  similar 
size  are  placed  contiguously,  the  latter  may  be  readily  blown 
away  by  the  breath,  while  the  former  will  remain  behind,  and 
when  the  vessel  containing  the  pieces  is  inclined,  the  melted 
pieces  will  roll  with  momentum,  from  one  side  to  the  other  in 
a  manner,  very  similar  to  metallic  substances,  while  the  frag- 
ments of  charcoal  will  either  not  move,  or  move  very  tardily. 

It  should  be  observed,  that  during  the  ignition  of  the 
charcoal  points,  there  is  a  peculiar  odour,  somewhat  resem- 
bling electricity,  and  a  white  fume  rises  perpendicularly, 
forming  a  well  defined  line  above  the  charcoal.  There  was 
also,  a  distinct  snap  or  crackling  when  the  two  points  were 
first  brought  together. 

Wishing  to  ascertain  whether  the  Alkali,  present  in  the 
charcoal,  had  any  effect  in  promoting  the  fusion,  some  pieces 
of  prepared  charcoal  were  thoroughly  boiled  in  water,  and 
were  then  again  exposed  to  a  strong  heat  in  a  furnace  beneath 
sand  in  a  crucible.  These  pieces  when  connected  in  the  cir- 
cuit exhibited  the  same  appearances  as  the  other  and  proved 
equally  fusible. 

Without  destroying  cabinet  specimens,  I  could  procure 
no  diamond  slivers,  and  have  not  therefore,  attempted  the 
fusion  of  the  diamond,  which  must  be  left  to  another  oppor- 
tunity. Our  circle  of  fusible  bodies,  so  much  enlarged  by  the 
use  of  your  instruments,  is  now  so  nearly  complete,  that  it 
would  be  very  desirable  to  fill  the  only  remaining  niche, 
namely,  that  occupied  by  plumbago,  anthracite,  and  the 
diamond. 

I  remain  as  ever,  truly,  your  friend  and  servant, 

B.  SILLIMAN." 


124  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

"  P.  S.  I  do  not  suppose,  that  those  who  repeat  these 
experiments,  will  succeed  with  the  common  galvanic  ap- 
paratus. I  deem  it  indispensable,  that  they  be  performed 
with  the  deflagrator,  and  with  one  equal  in  power  to  mine." 

And  what  the  great  experimenter  had  to  say  will  be  found 
in  the  appended  letters : 

"  My  dear  sir,  "  Philadelphia,  May  25th,  1822. 

In  a  former  letter  you  mentioned,  that  you  had  found 
the  power  of  the  galvanic  deflagrator,  when  its  coils  were 
subjected  to  acid  in  troughs  without  partitions,  incompatible 
with  the  power  of  other  voltaic  series,  of  the  usual  forms; 
that  when  associated  with  them  in  one  circuit,  it  could  neither 
give,  nor  receive  excitement.  You  now  inform  me,  that  this 
incompatibility  is  not  lessened  when  the  coils  are  insulated 
by  glass  jars.  It  follows,  that  electrical  insulation  has  less 
influence  on  the  action  of  this  instrument,  than  I  had  sup- 
posed, and  it  of  course  confirms  my  idea,  that  the  deflagrat- 
ing power  is  not  purely  electrical. 

It  cannot  be  doubted,  notwithstanding  your  experiments, 
that  there  is  a  principle  of  action,  common  to  the  various  ap- 
paratus which  you  employed,  and  all  other  galvanic  com- 
binations. The  effect  of  this  principle  of  action,  however, 
varies  widely  according  to  the  number  of  the  series,  the  size 
of  the  members  severally,  and  the  energy  of  the  agents  inter- 
posed. Towards  the  different  extremes  of  these  varieties  are 
De  Luc's  Column  apparently  producing  pure  electricity, 
and  one  large  galvanic  pair,  or  calorimotor  of  two  surfaces, 
producing,  in  appearance,  only  pure  caloric.  At  different 
points  between  these,  are  the  series  of  Davy  and  Children; 
the  one  gigantic  in  size,  the  other  in  number.  In  the  de- 
flagrator we  have  another  variety,  which,  with  respect  to  size 
and  number,  is  susceptible  of  endless  variation. 

It  must  be  evident  that  no  galvanic  instrument  where  a 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  125 

fluid  is  employed,  could  aid,  or  be  aided  by,  the  columns  of 
De  Luc  or  Zamboni,  nor  could  the  influence  of  either  be 
transmitted  by  the  other.  A  calorimotor  could  not  aid  Davy's 
great  series ;  nor  could  the  latter,  act  through  a  calorimotor. 
Taking  it  for  granted  that  there  can  be  no  oversight  in  your 
experiments,  this  incompatibility  of  exciting  power  must  ex- 
ist to  a  great  degree,  under  circumstances  where  it  could 
hardly  have  been  anticipated. 

Were  the  fluid  evolved  by  galvanic  action  purely  electric, 
the  effect  of  batteries  of  different  sizes,  when  united  in  one 
circuit,  ought  not  to  be  less  than  would  be  produced  if  the 
whole  of  the  pairs  were  of  smaller  size.  But  if  on  the  con- 
trary, we  suppose  the  voltaic  fluid  compounded  of  Caloric, 
light  and  electricity,  so  obviously  collateral  products  of  gal- 
vanic action;  the  ordinary  voltaic  series  employed  in  your 
experiments,  may  owe  its  efficacy  more  to  electricity — and 
the  deflagrator  more  to  caloric.  The  peculiar  potency  of 
both  may  be  arrested  when  they  are  joined,  by  the  incom- 
petency  of  either  series  to  convey  any  other  compound  than 
that  which  it  generates.  The  supply  of  caloric  from  the 
ordinary  series  may  be  too  small,  that  of  electricity  too  large ; 
and  vice  versa.  It  might  be  expected  that  each  would  supply 
the  deficiency  of  the  other;  but  it  is  well  known  that  many 
principles  will  combine  only  when  they  are  nascent.  The 
power  of  my  large  deflagrator  in  producing  decomposition, 
is  certainly  very  disproportional  to  its  power  of  evolving 
heat  and  light.  When  wires  proceeding  from  the  poles  were 
placed  very  near  each  other  under  water,  it  was  rapidly  de- 
composed ;  but  when  severally  introduced  into  the  open  ends 
of  an  inverted  syphon,  filled  with  that  fluid,  little  action  took 
place:  Potash  is  deflagrated  and  the  rosy  hue  of  the  flame 
indicates  a  decomposition.  Still  however  the  volatilization 
of  the  whole  mass,  and  intense  ignition  of  the  metallic  sup- 
port, prove  that  the  calorific  influence  is  greatly  and  pecul- 
iarly predominant. 


126  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

I  fear  that  in  my  essays  on  galvanic  theory,  the  possible 
activity  of  light,  has  been  too  much  overlooked.  The  cor- 
puscular changes  which  have  been  traced  to  the  distinctive 
energies  of  this  principle,  are  so  few  that  we  have  all  been  in 
the  habit,  erroneously  perhaps,  of  viewing  it  as  an  inert  prod- 
uct in  those  changes,  effected  by  caloric,  electricity  and 
chemical  action,  which  it  most  strikingly  characterizes.  Yet 
reflecting  on  the  prodigious  intensity  in  which  it  has  been 
extricated  by  the  deflagrator,  it  seems  wrong  not  to  suspect 
it  of  being  an  effective  constituent  of  the  galvanic  stream. 
Possibly  its  presence  in  varying  proportions,  may  be  one 
reason  of  the  incompatibility  of  the  voltaic  current  as  gen- 
erated under  different  circumstances,  or  by  various  forms  of 
apparatus.  It  may  also  suggest,  why  in  addition  to  changes 
in  the  force  of  nature  of  the  sensation  produced  by  the  gal- 
vanic discharges  which  may  be  considered  as  dependent  on 
electric  intensity,  peculiarities  have  been  observed,  which  are 
not  to  be  thus  explained.  The  effect  on  the  animal  frame, 
has  been  alleged  to  be  proportional  to  the  electrical  intensity, 
the  effect  on  metals  to  the  quantity;  but  according  to  the 
observations  of  Singer  (which  are  confirmed  by  mine)  the 
electrical  intensity  is  as  great,  with  water  as  with  acid,  if  not 
greater  even  than  with  the  latter.  The  reverse  is  true  of  the 
shock.  When  the  plates  of  the  deflagrator  are  moistened, 
and  withdrawn  from  the  acid,  the  shock  is  far  less  powerful ; 
yet  the  electrical  excitement  appears  stronger.  Light  is  un- 
deniably requisite  to  vegetable  life,  perhaps  it  is  no  less  neces- 
sary in  the  more  complicated  process  of  animal  vitality,  and 
the  electric  fluid  may  be  the  mean  of  its  distribution.  The 
miraculous  difference  observed  in  the  properties  of  organic 
products,  formed  of  the  same  ponderable  elements,  may  be 
due  to  imponderable  agents  conveyed  and  fixed  in  them  by 
galvanism.  Hence  it  may  arise,  that  the  prussic  acid  instan- 
taneously kills  when  applied  to  a  tongue,  containing  the  same 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  127 

ponderable  elements.  When  by  the  intense  decomposition 
of  matter,  light  is  always  evolved;  when  an  atom  of  tallow 
gives  out  enough  of  it  to  produce  sensation  in  the  retina  of 
millions  of  living  beings  why  may  it  not  when  presented  in  due 
form,  influence  the  taste,  and  otherwise  stimulate  the  nervous 
system.  For  such  an  office  its  substibility  would  seem  to 
qualify  it  eminently.  The  phenomena  of  the  firefly  and  the 
glow  worm  prove  that  it  may  be  secreted  by  the  process  of 
vitality. 

The  discovery  of  alkaline  qualities,  as  well  as  acid,  in 
organic  products  whose  elements  are  otherwise  found,  whether 
separate  or  in  combination,  without  any  such  qualities,  and 
the  opposite  habitudes  of  acids  and  alkalies  with  the  voltaic 
poles,  and  their  power  of  combining  with,  and  neutralizing 
each  other,  indicate  that  there  may  be  something  adventitious 
which  causes  alkalinity  and  acidity,  and  that  this  something 
is  of  an  imponderable  character,  and  dependent  on  galvanism. 

In  the  number  of  your  Journal  for  October  last,  I  gave 
my  reasons  for  believing  in  the  existence  of  material  impon- 
derable principles,  producing  the  phenomena  of  heat,  light 
and  electricity.  The  co-existence  of  these  principles  in  the 
medium  around  us,  their  simultaneous,  or  alternate  agency 
and  appearance,  during  many  of  the  most  important  proc- 
esses of  nature,  seem  to  me  to  sanction  a  conjecture,  that  as 
ingredients  in  ponderable  substances  they  may  cause  those 
surprisingly  active  and  wonderfully  diversified  properties 
usually  ascribed  to  apparently  inadequate  changes,  in  the 
proportions  of  ponderable  elements. 

In  obedience  to  your  request,  I  have  thus  displayed  the 
ideas  at  present  awakened  in  my  mind  by  these  obscure  and 
interesting  phenomena.  I  am  not  willing  to  assume  any 
responsibility  for  the  correctness  of  my  conjectures.  Pos- 
sibly they  may  excite  in  you  farther  and  more  correct 
speculations." 


128  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

Berzelius  (1822)  wrote  a  most  complimentary  note  to 
Silliman  upon  his  experiments  with  the  deflagrator,  taking 
occasion  also  to  add : 

"  The  discordance  of  the  ordinary  pile  with  the  Deflag- 
rator appears  inexplicable  to  me,  except  by  the  theory  of 
Mr.  Hare,  which  though  ingenious,  I  find  it  difficult  to  admit, 
since  the  electromagnetic  phenomena  are  in  all  their  char- 
acters the  same  as  the  ordinary  electricity." 

"  Red  Lion  12  miles  from  Philada 
"My  dear  Silliman:  «  June  20*  1822 

I  am  thus  far  on  my  way  to  Providence — One  of  the 
last  things  which  I  did  was  to  essay  a  calorimotor  constructed 
for  you.  Its  performance  was  superior  to  any  I  have  before 
used — I  presume  it  is  now  under  way  to  New  York,  whence 
the  Captn  is  to  ship  it  by  one  of  your  packets  to  New  Haven. 
— This  instrument  was  made  of  sheet  zinc  of  double  the 
thickness  of  that  which  I  used,  &  of  course  it  is  more  than 
four  times  as  valuable. — But  as  I  did  not  allow  for  this  in 
my  estimate  the  cost  will  be  sixty  five,  instead  of  fifty  dolls. 
The  metals  alone  cost  forty.  I  concluded  however  to  send  it. 
You  may  exhibit  it  to  your  class  &  the  public;  &  afterwards 
return  it  if  you  please  paying  expenses. 

I  have  observed  the  appearances  with  charcoal  of  which 
you  spoke  in  your  last  communication:  the  protruding  nipple 
on  the  zinc  pole  &  cavity  in  the  copper  pole. 

I  have  also  repeated  at  different  times  &  with  different 
deflagrators  the  experiment  of  decomposing  water  by  iron 
wires  &  found  invariably  gas  to  be  given  off  at  the  zinc  pole 
&  oxide  found  at  the  copper  pole — I  hope  soon  to  see  you 
however  &  talk  over  these  things  in  person. 

Dr  Chapman  is  about  publishing  in  his  journal  the  whole 
of  our  correspondence — 

I  am  as  ever  Yours  R.  H." 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  129 

"  I  shall  probably  be  in  New  York  when  the  Calorimotor 
reaches  that  Place — You  may  write  to  me  there — You  must 
have  sustain'd  a  great  shock  in  the  loss  of  your  Colleague 
Fisher." 

And  in  his  textbook  of  1831,  Silliman  comments  on  the 
peculiar  power  of  the  deflagrator  thus: 

"  1.  Both  in  producing  ignition  and  combustion,  the  de- 
ftagrators  far  surpass  any  other  form  of  galvanic  instru- 
ments. 

(a)  Charcoal  points,  two  inches  long,  were,  in  the  earliest 
experiments,  instantly  ignited,  and  the  light  surpassed  that 
from  any  other  source;  it  sometimes  flashed  through  the  win- 
dows upon  the  neighbouring  buildings,  and  it  has  produced 
dangerous  inflammation  in  the  strongest  eyes. 

(b)  At  the  moment  of  contact,  or  of  very  near  approx- 
imation, a  sharp  rushing  noise  is  heard,  which  is  constantly 
renewed  at  certain  distances,  and  is  occasioned,  evidently,  by 
the  passage  of  the  electrical,  calorific,  and  gaseous  current. 

( c)  The  eooistence  of  a  current,  from  the  positive  to  nega- 
tive pole,  is  decisively  proved  by  the  transfer  of  the  charcoal, 
from  the  positive  to  the  negative  pole;  on  the  negative  side, 
it  rapidly  collects  into  a  knob,  or  projecting  cone,  or  cylin- 
der, which  frequently  becomes  half  an  inch  or  more  long, 
before  it  falls  and  gives  place  to  another. 

(d)  On  the  positive  pole  a  correspondent  cavity  is  formed, 
out  of  which  the  vaporized  matter  rises  and  collects  upon 
the  negative  pole;  and  a  new  cavity  can  be  at  any  moment 
formed  in  the  positive  charcoal,  by  directing  the  negative 
point  to  a  new  place  upon  it;  the  cavities  have  no  appearance 
of  fusion,  but  retain  the  fibrous  structure  of  the  charcoal. 

(e)  If  the  charcoal  points  are  now  changed,  that  of  the 
negative  side  retaining  the  projecting  knobs,  the  latter  will 
be  immediately  transferred  to  the  other  pole,  whose  corre- 


130  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

spending  cavity  will  be  soon  filled  by  the  matter  vaporized 
from  the  knob  and  after  it  is  removed  a  cavity  will  come  in 
its  place,  and  thus  the  knob  and  cavity  may  be  made,  at 
pleasure,  to  exchange  places. 

(/)  If  a  metallic  wire  be  fixed  in  the  positive  pole,  then 
there  is  no  knob  formed  on  the  negative  charcoal. 

(g)  These  facts,  which  I  first  observed  in  1821-22,  are 
much  less  distinctly  seen  with  a  common  battery,  and  not  at 
all  with  one  of  moderate  size,  but  they  constantly  occur,  con- 
spicuously, with  a  powerful  deflagrator,  and  have  been  no- 
ticed by  Dr.  Hare,  Dr.  Griscom,  Dr.  Torrey,  and  several 
other  gentlemen  in  this  country.  They  were  amply  con- 
firmed by  Despretz. 

(h)  The  accumulation  upon  the  negative  pole  has  every 
appearance  of  fusion,  after  previous  volatilization;  it  is  in 
shining  round  masses,  aggregated  often  like  a  cauliflower; 
it  has  a  semi-metallic  appearance;  it  is  harder  than  the  char- 
coal, heavier,  much  less  combustible,  and  burns  away  slowly 
when  ignited  in  air  or  with  chlorate  of  potassa,  and  forms 
carbonic  acid.  It  is  obviously  derived  from  the  charcoal 
and  must  of  course  contain  its  impurities. 

(i)  Similar  appearances  are  produced  by  plumbago  and 
to  a  degree  by  anthracite;  plumbago  may  be  volatilized  and 
accumulated  upon  charcoal,  and  the  latter  may  be  transferred 
to  the  former,  when  it  exhibits  beautiful  tufts.  The  light 
from  plumbago  points  is  very  intense  and  even  more  rich 
than  from  charcoal. 

2.  Combustion  by  the  deflagrator  is  exceedingly  vivid; 
the  metallic  leaves  vanish  in  splendid  corruscations ;  a  plat- 
inum wire  several  feet  in  length,  fixed  between  the  poles  while 
the  metals  are  in  the  air,  becomes  red  and  white  hot,  and 
melts  the  instant  they  are  immersed ;  the  largest  wire  of  this 
metal  fixed  in  one  pole  and  touched  to  charcoal  in  the  other, 
melts  like  wax  in  a  candle,  and  is  dissipated  in  brilliant  scin- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  131 

tillations;  a  watch  spring  or  a  large  steel  knitting  needle, 
fixed  in  the  same  manner  and  touched  to  the  charcoal  point, 
burns  completely  away  with  a  torrent  of  light  and  sparks ;  a 
stream  of  mercury  flowing  from  a  funnel  is  deflagrated  with 
brilliant  light,  and  an  iron  wire  is  fused  and  welded  to 
another  under  water. 

3.  There  is  no  perceptible  impediment  or  loss  in  the  flow 
of  the  galvanic  current,,  from  another  room,  through  a  circuit 
of  150  feet  of  apparatus  and  communicating  leaden  rods ;  the 
sparks  may  be  taken  at  any  intermediate  points  by  connect- 
ing the  two  sides  of  the  battery,  and  very  beautiful  combus- 
tions are  produced  by  running  metallic  leaves  or  wires  con- 
nected with  one  pole  rapidly  along  the  leaden  rod  which 
is  the  conductor  to  the  other. 

4.  The  shock  from  the  deflagrator  is,  as  I  have  thought, 
rather  more  severe  than  from  an  equal  number  of  pairs  of 
the  common  battery;  probably  this  is  on  account  of  its  being 
received  when  it  is  at  a  maximum. 

5.  All  the  effects  of  the  deflagrator  are  easily  renewed, 
from  day  to  day  with  the  same  fluid,  provided  we  add  to  it 
occasionally  a  little  fresh  acid ;  it  exhibits  a  decided  magnetic 
energy." 

The  deflagrator  was  in  fact  a  mobilized  voltaic  pile,  and 
powerful  deflagrators  were  in  common  use  in  America  long 
before  any  apparatus  of  equal  power  was  known  in  Europe. 

Physicists  and  electro-chemists,  in  particular,  appreciated 
the  remarkable  advance  made  by  Hare  in  bringing  to  the 
scientific  public  his  calorimotor  and  deflagrator.  Those  who 
were  compelled  to  rely  entirely  on  the  voltaic  pile  must  have 
felt  that  there  were  vastly  greater  things  to  be  realized  if  the 
current  could  in  some  way  be  augmented.  In  private  they 
had  no  doubt  been  seeking  improvements.  The  renowned 
Faraday  was  of  this  group.  After  years  of  search  he  found 
a  battery,  but  then  he  learned  Hare  had  anticipated  him.  How 


132  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

gracefully  the  great  philosopher  conducted  himself  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  superiority  of  his  American  colleague's  con- 
tribution is  patent  from  these  lines: 

"  Guided  by  these  principles  I  was  led  to  the  construction 
of  a  voltaic  trough.  .  .  .  On  examining,  however,  what 
had  been  done  before,  I  found  that  the  new  trough  was  in 
all  essential  respects  the  same  as  that  invented  and  described 
by  Robert  Hare." 

And  in  another  place,  later  perhaps,  Faraday  remarked 
that  the  deflagrator  eminently  associated  the  requisites  of 
which  he  was  in  search,  and  alluded  to  many  facts  and  argu- 
ments, tending  to  prove  that  it  was  the  most  perfect  form 
of  the  apparatus,  at  that  time,  known. 

Hare's  views  on  heat,  light  and  electricity  were  unique. 
He  opposed  the  conjecture  that  heat  may  be  motion.  His 
ideas  are  clearly  defined  in  the  following  letter  to  Silliman 
(1822): 

"Dear  Sir: 

In  two  memoirs  published  in  the  Journal,  I  have  en- 
deavored to  shew  that  caloric  and  electricity,  are  collateral 
agents  in  galvanism,  the  ratio  of  the  former  to  the  latter, 
in  quantity,  being  as  the  extent  of  the  operating  superficies 
to  the  number  of  pairs  into  which  it  may  be  divided.  In 
those  publications  I  assumed,  that  the  causes  of  heat  and 
electricity  are  material  fluids.  Although  this  view  of  the 
origin  of  calorific  repulsion  is  taken  by  a  great  majority  of 
chemists,  it  has  been  combated,  both  by  Rumf ord,  and  Davy. 
With  the  utmost  deference  for  the  authority  of  these  great 
men,  especially  the  latter,  I  send  the  following  remarks  made 
in  answer  to  his  hypothetical  views : 

It  is  fully  established  in  mechanics,  that  when  a  body  in 
motion  is  blended  with  and  thus  made  to  communicate  motion 
to  another  body,  previously  at  rest,  or  moving  slower,  the 
velocity  of  the  compound  mass  after  the  impact  will  be  found, 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  133 

by  multiplying  the  weight  of  each  body,  by  its  respective 
velocity,  and  dividing  the  sum  of  the  products,  by  the  aggre- 
gate weight  of  both  bodies.  Of  course  it  will  be  more  than 
a  mean  or  less  than  mean,  accordingly  as  the  quicker  body 
was  lighter  or  heavier  than  the  other.  Now  according  to 
Sir  Humphry  Davy,  the  particles  of  substances  which  are 
unequally  heated  are  moving  with  unequal  degrees  of  veloc- 
ity:  of  course  when  they  are  reduced  by  contact  to  a  common 
temperature,  the  heat,  or  what  is  the  same  (in  his  view),  the 
velocity  of  the  movements  of  their  particles,  ought  to  be 
found  by  multiplying  the  heat  of  each  by  its  weight  and 
dividing  the  sum  of  the  product  by  the  aggregate  weight. 
Hence  if  equal  weights  of  matter  be  mixed,  the  temperature 
ought  to  be  a  mean ;  and  if  equal  bulks,  it  ought  to  be  as  much 
nearer  the  previous  temperature  of  the  heavier  substance  as 
the  weight  of  the  latter  is  greater;  but  the  opposite  is  in 
most  instances  true.  When  equiponderant  quantities  of  mer- 
cury and  water  are  mixed  at  different  temperatures,  the 
result  is  such  as  might  be  expected  from  the  mixture  of  the 
water,  were  it  three  times  heavier;  so  much  nearer  to  the 
previous  heat  of  the  water,  is  the  consequent  temperature. 
It  may  be  said  that  this  motion  is  not  measurable  upon  me- 
chanical principles.  How  then,  I  ask  does  it  produce  mechan- 
ical effects?  These  must  be  produced  by  the  force  of  the 
vibrations,  which  are  by  the  hypothesis  mechanical :  for  what- 
ever laws  hold  good  in  relation  to  moving  matter  in  mass, 
must  operate  in  regard  to  each  particle  of  that  matter;  the 
effect  of  the  former,  can  only  be  a  multiple  of  that  of  the 
latter.  Indeed  one  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy's  reasons  for 
thinking  heat  to  consist  of  corpuscular  motions  is  that  mechan- 
ical attrition  generates  it.  Surely  then  a  motion,  produced  by 
mechanical  means,  and  which  produces  mechanical  effects, 
may  be  estimated  on  mechanical  principles. 

In  the  case  cited  above,  the  power  of  reciprocal  com- 


134  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

munication  of  heat  in  two  fluids,  is  shown  to  be  consistent 
with  the  views  of  this  ingenious  theorist.  If  we  compare 
the  same  power  in  solids,  the  result  will  be  equally  objection- 
able. Thus  the  heating  power  of  glass  being  443,  that  of  an 
equal  bulk  of  lead  will  be  487,  though  so  many  times  heavier ; 
and  if  equal  weights  be  compared,  the  effect  of  the  glass, 
will  be  four  times  greater  than  that  of  the  lead.  If  it  be 
said  that  the  movements  of  the  denser  matter  are  made  in  less 
space,  and  therefore  require  less  motion,  I  answer  that  if 
they  be  made  with  equal  velocity,  they  must  go  through  equal 
space  and  therefore,  require  less  motion,  I  answer,  that  if  they 
be  made  with  equal  velocity,  they  must  go  through  equal 
space  in  the  same  time,  their  alternations  being  more  fre- 
quent. And  if  they  be  not  made  with  the  same  velocity,  they 
could  not  communicate  to  matter  of  a  lighter  kind,  a  heat 
equally  great;  since,  agreeably  to  experience,  no  superiority 
of  weight  will  enable  a  body,  acting  directly  on  another,  to 
produce  in  it  a  motion  quicker  than  its  own.  Consistently 
with  this  doctrine,  the  particles  of  an  aeriform  fluid,  when 
they  oppose  a  mechanical  resistance,  do  it  by  aid  of  a  certain 
movement,  which  causes  them  effectively  to  occupy  a  greater 
space  than  when  at  rest.  It  is  true,  a  body,  by  moving  back- 
wards and  forwards,  may  keep  off  other  bodies  from  the 
space  in  which  it  moves.  Thus  let  a  weight  be  partially 
counterbalanced  by  means  of  a  scale  beam,  so  that  if  left  to 
itself  it  would  descend  gently.  Place  exactly  under  it  another 
equally  solid  mass,  on  which  the  weight  would  fall  unob- 
structed. If  between  the  two  bodies  thus  situated,  a  third 
be  caused  to  undergo  an  alternate  motion,  it  may  keep  the 
upper  weight  from  descending,  provided  the  force  with  which 
the  latter  descends,  be  no  greater  than  that  of  the  movement 
in  the  interposed  mass,  and  the  latter  acts  with  celerity,  that 
between  each  stroke  the  time  be  too  small  for  the  weight  to 
move  any  sensible  distance.  Here  then  we  have  a  case  anal- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  135 

ogous  to  that  supposed,  in  which  the  alternate  movements  or 
vibrations  of  matter  enable  it  to  preserve  to  itself  a  greater 
space  in  opposition  to  a  force  impressed ;  and  it  must  be  evi- 
dent that  lengthening  or  shortening  the  extent  of  the  vibra- 
tions of  the  interposed  body,  provided  they  are  made  in  the 
same  time,  will  increase  or  diminish  the  space  apparently 
occupied  by  it,  as  the  volume  of  substances  is  affected  by  an 
increase  or  reduction  of  heat.  It  ought  however  to  be  rec- 
ollected that  in  the  case  we  have  imagined,  there  is  a  con- 
stant expenditure  of  momentum  to  compensate  for  that  gen- 
erated in  the  weight  by  gravity,  during  each  vibration.  In 
the  vibrations  conceived  to  constitute  heat,  there  is  no  gen- 
erating power  to  make  up  for  this  loss.  A  body  preserves 
the  expansion  communicated  by  heat  in  vacuo,  where,  in- 
sulated from  all  other  matter,  the  only  momentum,  by  which 
the  vibrations  of  its  particles  can  be  supported,  must  have 
been  received  before  its  being  thus  situated.  If  we  pour 
mercury  into  a  glass  tube  shaped  like  a  shepherd's  crook, 
the  hook  being  downwards,  the  fluid  will  be  prevented  from 
occupying  that  part  of  the  tube  where  the  air  is  in  such  posi- 
tion as  not  to  escape.  In  this  case,  according  to  the  hypoth- 
esis in  question,  the  mercury  is  prevented  from  entering 
the  space  the  air  occupies,  by  a  series  of  impalpable  gyratory 
movements ;  so  that  the  collision  of  the  aerial  particles  against 
each  other,  causes  each  to  occupy  a  larger  share  of  space  in 
the  manner  above  illustrated  by  the  descending  weight  and 
interposed  body.  The  analogy  will  be  greater,  if  we  sup- 
pose a  row  of  interposed  bodies  alternately  striking  against 
each  other,  and  the  descending  weight ;  or  we  may  imagine  a 
vibration  in  all  the  particles  of  the  interposed  mass  equal  in 
aggregate  extent  and  force  to  that  of  the  whole,  when  per- 
forming a  common  movement.  If  the  aggregate  extent  of 
the  vibration  of  the  particles  very  much  exceed  that  which 
when  performed  in  mass  would  be  necessary  to  preserve  a 


136  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

certain  space,  it  may  be  supposed  productive  of  a  substance 
like  the  air  by  which  the  mercury  is  resisted.  But  whence 
is  the  momentum  adequate  in  such  rare  media  to  resist  a 
pressure  of  a  fluid  so  heavy  as  mercury,  which  in  this  case  per- 
forms a  part  similar  to  that  of  the  weight,  cited  for  the  pur- 
pose of  illustration?  If  it  be  said  that  the  mercury  and  glass 
being  at  the  same  temperature  as  the  air,  the  particles  of 
these  substances  vibrate  in  a  manner  to  keep  up  the  aerial 
pulsations;  I  ask,  when  the  experiment  is  tried  in  an  ex- 
hausted receiver,  what  is  to  supply  momentum  to  the  mercury 
and  glass?  There  is  no  small  difficulty  in  conceiving  under 
the  most  favourable  circumstances,  that  a  species  of  motion, 
that  exists  according  to  the  hypothesis  as  the  cause  of  ex- 
pansion in  a  heated  solid,  should  cause  a  motion  productive 
of  fluidity  or  vaporization,  as  when  by  means  of  a  hot  iron,  we 
convert  ice  into  water,  and  water  into  vapour. 

How  inconceivable  is  it  that  the  iron  boiler  of  a  steam 
engine  should  give  to  the  particles  of  water,  a  motion  so 
totally  different  from  any  it  can  itself  possess,  and  at  the 
same  time  capable  of  such  wonderful  effects  as  are  produced 
by  the  agency  of  steam.  Is  it  to  be  imagined  that  in  par- 
ticles whose  weight  does  not  exceed  a  few  ounces,  sufficient 
momentum  can  be  accumulated  to  move  as  many  tons  ?  There 
appears  to  me  another  very  serious  obstacle  to  this  explana- 
tion of  the  nature  of  heat.  How  are  we  to  account  for  its 
relation  in  vacuo,  which  the  distinguished  advocate  of  the 
hypothesis  has  himself  shown  to  ensue?  There  can  be  no 
motion  without  matter.  To  surmount  this  difficulty,  he  calls 
up  a  suggestion  of  Newton's,  that  the  calorific  vibrations  of 
matter  may  send  off  radiant  particles,  which  lose  their  own 
momentum  in  communicating  vibrations  to  bodies  remote 
from  those,  whence  they  emanate.  Thus  according  to  Sir 
Humphry,  there  is  radiant  matter  producing  heat,  and  radi- 
ant matter  producing  light.  Now,  the  only  serious  objection 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  137 

made  by  him  to  the  doctrine  which  considers  heat  as  material, 
will  apply  equally  against  the  existence  of  material  calorific 
emanations.  That  the  cannon,  heated  by  friction  in  the  noted 
experiment  of  Rumford,  would  have  radiated  as  well  as  if 
heated  in  any  other  way,  there  can,  I  think,  be  no  doubt;  and 
as  well  in  vacuo,  as  the  heat  excited  by  Sir  Humphry  in  a 
similar  situation.  That  its  emission  in  this  way  would  have 
been  as  inexhaustible  as  by  the  conducting  process  cannot  be 
questioned.  Why  then  is  it  not  as  easy  to  have  an  inex- 
haustible supply  of  radiant  matter,  communicating  the  vibra- 
tions in  which  he  represents  heat  to  consist? 

We  see  the  same  matter,  at  different  times,  rendered  self 
attractive,  or  self  repellent;  now  cohering  in  the  solid  form 
with  great  tenacity,  and  now  flying  apart  with  explosive 
violence  in  the  state  of  vapour.  Hence  the  existence,  in  na- 
ture, of  two  opposite  kinds  of  reaction,  between  particles,  is 
self  evident.  There  can  be  no  property  without  matter,  in 
which  it  may  be  inherent.  Nothing  can  have  no  property. 
The  question  then  is,  whether  these  opposite  properties  can 
belong  to  the  same  particles.  Is  it  not  evident,  that  the  same 
particles  cannot,  at  the  same  time,  be  self-repellent,  and  self- 
attractive?  Suppose  them  to  be  so,  one  of  the  two  proper- 
ties must  pre-dominate,  and  in  that  case  we  should  not  per- 
ceive the  existence  of  the  other.  It  would  be  useless,  and 
the  particles  would  in  effect,  possess  the  predominant  prop- 
erty alone,  whether  attraction  or  repulsion.  If  the  proper- 
ties were  equal  in  power,  they  would  annihilate  each  other, 
and  the  matter  would  be,  as  if  void  of  either  property.  There 
must,  therefore,  be  a  matter,  in  which  the  self -repellent  power 
resides,  as  well  as  matter  in  which  attraction  resides. 

There  must  also  be  as  many  kinds  of  matter,  as  there  are 
kinds  of  repulsion,  of  which  the  affinities  means  of  production, 
or  laws  of  communication  are  different.  Hence,  I  do  firmly 
believe  in  the  existence  of  material  fluids,  severally  produc- 


138  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

ing  the  phenomena  of  heat,  light  and  electricity.  Substances, 
endowed  with  attraction,  make  themselves  known  to  us,  by 
that  species  of  this  power,  which  we  call  gravitation,  by  which 
they  are  drawn  towards  the  earth,  and  are  therefore  heavy 
and  ponderable;  by  their  resistance  to  our  bodies,  producing 
the  sensation  of  feeling  or  touch;  and  by  the  vibrations  or 
movements  in  other  matter,  affecting  the  ear  with  sounds, 
and  the  eye  by  a  modified  reflection  of  light.  Where  we  per- 
ceive none  of  these  usual  concomitants  of  matter,  we  are  prone 
to  infer  its  absence.  Hence  ignorant  people  have  no  idea  of 
air,  except  in  the  state  of  wind ;  and  when  even  in  a  quiescent 
state  designate  it  by  this  word.  But  that  the  principles,  the 
existence  of  which  has  been  demonstrated,  should  not  be  thus 
perceived,  is  far  from  being  a  reason  for  doubting  their  ex- 
istence. A  very  slight  attention  to  their  qualities  will  make 
it  evident,  that  they  could  not  produce  any  of  the  effects, 
by  which  the  existence  of  matter  in  its  ordinary  form  is  rec- 
ognized. The  self-repellent  property  renders  it  impossible 
that  they  should  resist  penetration ;  their  deficiency  of  weight, 
renders  their  movements  nugatory.  When  in  combination, 
they  are  not  perceived,  but  the  bodies  with  which  they  com- 
bine ;  and  it  is  only  by  the  changes  they  produce  in  such  bodies, 
or  their  effects  upon  our  nerves,  that  they  can  be  detected." 

Silliman  had  been  greatly  interested  in  the  fusion  and 
volatilization  of  charcoal  with  the  aid  of  the  deflagrator,  and 
wrote : 
"My  dear  Sir,  "March  26,  1823. 

In  a  former  letter  published  in  the  Journal,  Vol.  V.  p.  108, 
and  in  an  additional  notice,  p.  361  same  Vol.,  I  gave  an 
account  of  the  fusion  and  volatilization  of  charcoal,  by  the 
use  of  your  Galvanic  Deflagrator.  I  have  now  to  add,  that 
the  fusion  of  plumbago  (black  lead)  was  accomplished  yester- 
day by  the  same  instrument,  and  that  I  have,  again,  obtained 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  139 

the  same  results  today.  For  this  purpose,  from  a  piece  of 
very  fine  and  beautiful  plumbago,  from  North  Carolina,  I 
sawed  small  parallelopipeds,  about  one  eighth  of  an  inch  in 
diameter,  and  from  three  fourths  of  an  inch  to  one  inch  and 
a  quarter  in  length;  these  were  sharpened  at  one  end,  and 
one  of  them  was  employed  to  point  one  pole  of  the  deflagrator, 
while  the  other  was  terminated  by  prepared  charcoal.  Plum- 
bago being,  in  its  natural  state,  a  conductor  (although  in- 
ferior to  prepared  charcoal),  a  spark  was  readily  obtained, 
but,  in  no  instance,  of  half  the  energy  which  belongs  to  the 
instrument  when  in  full  activity,  for  the  zinc  coils  were  very 
much  corroded,  and  some  of  them  had  failed  and  dropped 
out;  still  the  influence  was  readily  conveyed,  through  the 
remaining  coils.  As  my  hopes  of  success,  in  the  actual  state 
of  the  instrument,  were  not  very  sanguine,  I  was  the  more 
gratified  to  find  a  decided  result  in  the  very  first  trial.  To 
avoid  repetitions  I  will  generalize  the  results.  The  best  were 
obtained,  when  the  plumbago  was  connected  with  the  copper, 
and  prepared  charcoal  with  the  zinc  pole.  The  spark  was 
vivid,  and  globules  of  melted  plumbago  could  be  discerned, 
even  in  the  midst  of  the  ignition,  forming  and  formed  upon 
the  edges  of  the  focus  of  heat.  In  this  region  also,  there 
was  a  bright  scintillation,  evidently  owing  to  combustion, 
which  went  on  where  air  had  free  access,  but  was  prevented 
by  the  vapour  of  carbon,  which  occupied  the  highly  luminous 
region  of  the  focus,  between  the  poles,  and  of  the  direct  route 
between  them.  Just  on  and  beyond  the  confines  of  the  ignited 
portion  of  the  plumbago,  there  was  formed  a  belt  of  a  reddish 
brown  color,  a  quarter  of  an  inch  or  more  in  diameter,  which 
appeared  to  be  owing  to  the  iron,  remaining  from  the  com- 
bustion of  the  carbon  of  that  part  of  the  piece,  and  which, 
being  now  oxidized  to  a  maximum,  assumed  the  usual  color 
of  the  peroxide  of  that  metal. 

In  various  trials,  the  globules  were  formed  very  abun- 


140  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

dantly  on  the  edge  of  the  focus,  and,  in  several  instances, 
were  studded  around  so  thickly,  as  to  resemble  a  string  of 
beads,  of  which  the  largest  were  of  the  size  of  the  smallest 
shot;  others  were  merely  visible  to  the  naked  eye;  others  still 
were  microscopic.  No  globule  ever  appeared  on  the  point  of 
the  plumbago,  which  had  been  in  the  focus  of  heat,  but  this 
point  presented  a  hemispherical  excavation,  and  the  plum- 
bago there  had  the  appearance  of  black  scoriae  or  volcanic 
cinders.  These  were  the  general  appearances  at  the  copper 
pole  occupied  by  the  plumbago. 

On  the  zinc  pole,  occupied  by  the  prepared  charcoal, 
there  were  very  peculiar  results.  This  pole  was,  in  every 
instance,  elongated  towards  the  copper  pole,  and  the  black 
matter  accumulated  there,  presented  every  appearance  of 
fusion,  not  into  globules,  but  into  a  fibrous  and  striated  f orm, 
like  the  half  flowing  slag,  found  on  the  upper  currents  of 
lava.  It  was  evidently  transferred,  in  the  state  of  vapor, 
from  the  plumbago  of  the  other  pole,  and  had  been  formed 
by  the  carbon  taken  from  the  hemispherical  cavity.  It  was 
so  different  from  the  melted  charcoal,  described  in  my  former 
communications,  that  its  origin  from  the  plumbago  could 
admit  of  no  reasonable  doubt.  I  am  now  to  state  other  ap- 
pearances which  have  excited  in  my  mind  a  very  deep  in- 
terest. On  the  end  of  the  prepared  charcoal,  and  occupying, 
frequently,  an  area  of  a  quarter  of  an  inch  or  more  in  diam- 
eter, were  found  numerous  globules  of  perfectly  melted  mat- 
ter, entirely  spherical  in  their  form,  having  a  high  vitreous 
lustre,  and  a  great  degree  of  beauty.  Some  of  them,  and 
generally  they  were  those  most  remote  from  the  focus,  were 
of  a  jet  black,  like  the  most  perfect  obsidian;  others  were 
brown,  yellow,  and  topaz  colored;  others  still  were  greyish 
white,  like  pearl  stones  with  the  translucence  and  lustre  of 
porcelain;  and  others  still,  limpid  like  flint  glass,  or,  in  some 
cases,  like  hyalite  or  precious  opal,  but  without  the  iridescence 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  141 

of  the  latter.  Few  of  the  globules  upon  the  zinc  pole  were 
perfectly  black,  while  very  few  of  those  on  the  copper  pole 
were  otherwise.  In  one  instance,  when  I  used  some  of  the 
very  pure  English  plumbago  (sawed  from  a  cabinet  speci- 
men, and  believed  to  be  from  Borrowdale) ,  white  and  trans- 
parent globules  were  formed  on  the  copper  side. 

When  the  points  were  held  vertically,  and  the  plumbago 
upper  most,  no  globules  were  formed  on  the  latter,  and  they 
were  unusually  numerous,  and  almost  all  black,  on  the  op- 
posite pole.  When  the  points  were  exchanged,  plumbago 
being  on  the  zinc,  and  charcoal  on  the  copper  end,  very  few 
globules  were  formed  on  the  plumbago,  and  not  one  on  the 
charcoal;  this  last  was  rapidly  hollowed  out  into  a  hemi- 
spherical cavity,  while  the  plumbago  was  as  rapidly  elongated 
by  matter  accumulating  at  its  point,  and  which,  when  ex- 
amined by  the  microscope,  proved  to  be  a  concretion  in  the 
shape  of  a  cauliflower — of  volatilized  and  melted  charcoal, 
having,  in  a  high  degree,  all  the  characteristics  which  I  for- 
merly described  as  belonging  to  this  substance.  Indeed,  I 
found  by  repetitions  of  the  experiment,  that  this  was  the  best 
mode  of  obtaining  fine  pieces  of  melted  charcoal. 

In  some  instances,  I  used  points  of  plumbago  on  both 
poles,  and  always  obtained  melted  globules  on  both;  the 
results  were  however,  not  so  distinct  as  when  plumbago  was 
on  the  copper  and  charcoal  on  the  zinc  pole;  but  the  same 
elongation  of  the  zinc  and  hollowing  of  the  copper  pole  took 
place  as  before.  I  detached  some  of  the  globules,  and  partly 
bedding  them  in  a  handle  of  wood,  tried  their  hardness  and 
firmness;  they  bore  strong  pressure  without  breaking,  and 
easily  scratched,  not  only  flint  glass,  but  window  glass,  and 
even  the  hard  green  variety,  which  forms  the  aqua  fortis 
bottles.  The  globules  which  had  acquired  this  extraordinary 
hardness,  were  formed  from  plumbago  which  was  so  soft, 
that  it  was  perfectly  free  from  resistance  when  crushed  be- 


142  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

tween  the  thumb  and  finger,  and  covered  their  surfaces  with 
a  shining  metallic  looking  coat.  These  globules  sunk  very 
rapidly  in  strong  sulphuric  acid — much  more  so  than  the 
melted  charcoal,  but  not  with  much  more  rapidity  than  the 
plumbago  itself,  from  which  they  had  been  formed. 

The  zinc  of  the  deflagrator  is  now  too  far  gone  to  enable 
me  to  prosecute  this  research  any  farther  at  present ;  as  soon 
as  the  zinc  coils  can  be  renewed,  I  shall  hope  to  resume  them, 
and  I  entertain  strong  hopes,  especially  from  the  new  im- 
proved and  much  enlarged  deflagrator,  which  you  are  so  kind 
as  to  lead  me  soon  to  expect  from  Philadelphia. 

April  12:  Having  refitted  the  Deflagrator  with  new  zinc 
coils,  I  have  repeated  the  experiments  related  above,  and 
have  the  satisfaction  of  stating  that  the  results  are  fully 
confirmed  and  even  in  some  respects  extended.  The  De- 
flagrator now  acts  with  great  energy,  and  in  consequence  I 
have  been  enabled  to  obtain  good  results  when  using  Plum- 
bago on  both  poles.  Parallelepipeds  of  that  substance  1/5 
of  an  inch  in  diameter  and  one  inch  or  two  inches  long,  being 
screwed  into  the  vices  connecting  the  poles,  on  being  brought 
into  contact,  transmitted  the  fluid,  with  intense  splendor,  and 
became  fully  ignited  for  an  inch  on  each  side ;  on  being  with- 
drawn a  little,  the  usual  arch  of  flame  was  formed  for  half  an 
inch  or  more.  Indeed  when  the  instrument  is  in  an  active 
state,  the  light  emitted  from  the  plumbago  points,  appears 
to  be  even  more  intense  and  rich  than  from  charcoal ;  so  that 
they  may  be  used  with  advantage,  in  class  experiments,  where 
the  principal  object  is  to  exhibit  the  brilliancy  of  the  light. 

On  examining  the  pieces  in  this,  and  in  numerous  other 
cases,  I  found  them  beautifully  studded  with  numerous 
globules  of  melted  plumbago.  They  extended  from  within  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  of  the  point,  to  the  distance  of  1/4  or  1/3 
of  an  inch  all  around.  They  were  larger  than  before  and 
perfectly  visible  to  the  naked  eye;  they  exhibited  all  the 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  143 

colours  before  described,  from  perfect  black,  to  pure  white, 
including  brown,  amber,  and  topaz  colours ;  among  the  white 
globules,  some  were  perfectly  limpid,  and  could  not  be  dis- 
tinguished by  the  eye  from  portions  of  diamond.  In  differ- 
ent repetitions  of  the  experiment  with  the  plumbago  points, 
there  were  some  varieties  in  the  results.  In  one  instance  only, 
was  there  a  globule  formed  on  the  point;  it  would  seem  as 
if  the  melted  spheres  of  plumbago  as  soon  as  formed,  rolled 
out  of  the  current  of  flame,  and  congealed  on  the  contiguous 
parts.  In  every  instance,  the  plumbago  on  the  copper  side, 
was  hollowed  out,  into  a  spherical  cavity,  and  the  correspond- 
ing piece  on  the  zinc  side,  received  an  accumulation  more  or 
less  considerable.  In  most  instances  and  in  all  when  the  De- 
flagrator  was  very  active,  besides  the  globules  of  melted  mat- 
ter, a  distinct  tuft  or  projection  was  formed  on  the  zinc  pole, 
considerably  resembling  the  melted  charcoal,  described  in  my 
former  communications,  but  apparently  denser  and  more 
compact;  although  resembling  the  melted  charcoal,  as  one 
variety  of  volcanic  slag  resembles  another,  it  could  be  easily 
distinguished  by  an  eye  familiarized  to  the  appearances.  In 
one  experiment  the  cavity,  and  all  the  parts  of  the  plumbago 
at  the  copper  pole,  were  completely  melted  on  the  surface, 
and  covered  with  a  black  enamel.  The  appearances  were 
somewhat  varied  when  specimens  of  plumbago  from  differ- 
ent localities  were  used.  In  some  instances  it  burnt,  and  even 
deflagrated,  being  completely  dissipated  in  brilliant  scintilla- 
tions ;  the  substance  was  rapidly  consumed  and  no  fusion  was 
obtained.  This  kind  of  effect  occurred  most  distinctly  when 
there  was  a  plumbago  piece  on  the  copper  side,  and  a  piece  of 
charcoal  on  the  zinc  side.  I  have  already  mentioned  the 
curious  result  which  is  obtained  when  this  arrangement  is 
reversed,  the  charcoal  on  the  copper,  and  the  plumbago  on 
the  zinc  side;  this  effect  was  now  particularly  distinct  and 
remarkable,  the  charcoal  on  the  copper  side  was  rapidly  vola- 


144  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

tilized,  a  deep  cavity  was  formed,  and  the  charcoal  taken 
from  it,  was  instantly  accumulated  upon  the  plumbago  point, 
forming  a  most  beautiful  protuberance,  completely  distin- 
guishable from  the  plumbago,  and  presenting  when  viewed 
by  the  microscope,  a  congeries  of  aggregated  spheres,  with 
every  mark  of  perfect  fusion  and  with  a  perfect  metallic 
lustre.  I  would  again  recommend  this  arrangement  when 
the  object  is  to  attain  fine  pieces  of  melted  charcoal. 

Apr.  14:  In  repeating  the  experiments  to-day,  I  have 
obtained  even  finer  results  than  before.  The  spheres  of  melted 
plumbago  were  in  some  instance  so  thickly  arranged  as  to 
resemble  shot  lying  side  by  side ;  in  one  case  they  completely 
covered  the  plumbago,  in  the  part  contiguous  to  the  point 
on  the  zinc  side  and  were  without  exception  white;  like 
minute,  delicate  concretions  of  mammillary  chalcedony; 
among  a  great  number  there  was  not  one  of  a  dark  colour 
except  that  when  detached  by  the  knife  they  exhibited  slight 
shades  of  brown  at  the  place  where  they  were  united  with 
the  general  mass  of  plumbago.  They  appeared  to  me  to  be 
formed  by  the  condensation  of  a  white  vapour  which  in  all 
the  experiments,  where  an  active  power  was  employed,  I  had 
observed  to  be  exhaled  between  the  poles  and  partly  to  pass 
from  the  copper  to  the  zinc  pole,  and  partly  to  rise  vertically 
in  an  abundant  fume  like  that  of  the  oxide  proceeding  from 
the  combustion  of  various  metals.  I  mentioned  this  circum- 
stance in  the  report  of  my  first  experiments,  but  did  not  then 
make  any  trial  to  ascertain  the  nature  of  the  substance. 
Although  its  abundance  rendered  the  idea  improbable,  I 
thought  it  possible  that  it  might  contain  alkali  derived  from 
the  charcoal.  It  is  easily  condensed  by  inverting  a  glass  over 
the  fume  as  it  rises,  when  it  soon  renders  the  glass  opaque 
with  a  white  lining.  Although  there  was  a  distinct  and 
peculiar  odour  in  the  fume,  I  found  that  the  condensed  mat- 
ter was  tasteless,  and  that  it  did  not  effervesce  with  acids, 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  145 

or  affect  the  test  colours  for  alkalies.  Besides  as  it  is  pro- 
duced apparently  in  greater  quantity,  when  both  poles  are 
terminated  by  plumbago,  it  seems  possible  that  it  is  white 
volatilized  carbon,  giving  origin,  by  its  condensation,  in  a 
state  of  greater  or  less  purity,  to  the  grey,  white,  and  per- 
haps to  the  limpid  globules. 

The  Deflagrator  having  been  refitted  only  at  the  moment 
when  a  part  of  this  paper  had  already  gone  to  press,  and  the 
remainder  is  called  for,  I  am  precluded  by  these  circum- 
stances from  trying  the  decisive  experiment  of  heating  this 
white  matter  by  means  of  the  solar  focus  in  a  jar  of  pure  oxy- 
gen gas,  to  ascertain  whether  it  will  produce  carbonic  acid  gas. 

This  trial  I  have  this  morning  made  upon  the  coloured 
globules  obtained  in  former  experiments;  they  were  easily 
detached  from  the  plumbago  by  the  slightest  touch  from  the 
point  of  a  knife,  and  when  collected  in  a  white  porcelain  dish, 
they  rolled  about  like  shot,  when  the  vessel  was  turned  one 
way  and  another.  To  detach  any  portions  of  unmelted  plum- 
bago which  might  adhere  to  them  I  carefully  rubbed  them 
between  my  thumb  and  finger  in  the  palm  of  my  hand.  I 
then  placed  them  upon  a  fragment  of  wedgewood  ware, 
floated  in  a  dish  of  mercury,  and  slid  over  them  a  small  jar 
of  very  pure  oxygen  gas,  whose  entire  freedom  from  car- 
bonic acid,  had  been  fully  secured  by  washing  it  with  a 
solution  of  caustic  soda,  and  by  subsequently  testing  it  with 
recently  prepared  lime-water ;  the  globules  were  now  exposed 
to  the  solar  focus  from  the  lens.  It  was  near  noon,  and  the 
sky  but  very  slightly  dimmed  by  vapour;  although  they  were 
in  the  focus  for  nearly  half  an  hour,  they  did  not  melt,  dis- 
appear, or  alter  their  form;  it  appeared  however,  on  exam- 
ining the  gas  that  they  had  given  up  part  of  their  substance 
to  the  oxygen,  for  carbonic  acid  was  formed  which  gave  a 
decided  precipitate  with  lime-water.  Indeed  when  we  con- 
sider that  these  globules  had  been  formed  in  a  heat  vastly 
10 


146  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

more  intense,  than  that  of  the  solar  focus,  we  could  not 
reasonably  expect  to  melt  them  in  this  manner,  and  they  are 
of  a  character  so  highly  vitreous,  that  they  must  necessarily 
waste  away  very  slowly,  even  when  assailed  by  oxygen  gas. 
In  a  long  continued  experiment,  it  is  presumable,  that  they 
would  be  eventually  dissipated,  leaving  only  a  residuum  of 
iron.  That  they  contain  iron  is  manifest,  from  their  being 
attracted  by  the  magnet,  and  their  colour  is  evidently  owing 
to  this  metal.  Plumbago,  in  its  natural  state,  is  not  magnetic, 
but  it  readily  becomes  so,  by  being  strongly  heated,  although 
without  fusion,  and  even  the  powder  obtained  from  a  black 
lead  crucible  after  enduring  a  strong  furnace  heat,  is  mag- 
netic. It  would  be  interesting  to  know  whether  the  limpid 
globules  are  also  magnetic,  but  this  trial  I  have  not  yet  made. 
I  have  already  stated,  that  the  white  fume  mentioned 
above,  appears  when  points  of  charcoal  are  used.  I  have  found 
that  this  matter  collects  in  considerable  quantities  a  little 
out  of  the  focus  of  heat  around  the  zinc  pole,  and  occasionally 
exhibits  the  appearance  of  a  frit  of  white  enamel,  or  looks  a 
little  like  pumice  stone,  only,  it  has  the  whiteness  of  porce- 
lain, graduating  however  into  light  gray,  and  other  shades, 
as  it  recedes  from  the  intense  heat.  In  a  few  instances  I 
obtained  upon  the  charcoal,  when  this  substance  terminated 
both  poles,  distinct,  limpid  spheres,  and  at  other  times  they 
adhered  to  the  frit  like  beads,  on  a  string.  Had  we  not  been 
encouraged  by  the  remarkable  facts  already  stated,  it  would 
appear  very  extravagant  to  ask  whether  this  white  frit  and 
these  limpid  spheres  could  arise  from  carbon,  volatilized  in 
a  white  state  even  charcoal  itself,  and  condensed  in  a  form 
analogous  to  the  diamond.  The  rigorous  and  obvious  experi- 
ments necessary  to  determine  this  question,  it  is  not  now  prac- 
ticable for  me  to  make,  and  I  must  in  the  mean  time  admit 
the  possibility  that  alkaline,  and  earthy  impurities  may  have 
contributed  to  the  result. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  147 

In  one  instance  contiguous  to,  but  a  little  aside  from  the 
charcoal  points,  I  obtained  isolated  dark  coloured  globules 
of  melted  charcoal,  analogous  to  those  of  plumbago. 

The  opinion  which  I  formerly  stated  as  to  the  passage 
of  a  current  from  the  copper  to  the  zinc  pole  of  the  defla- 
grator,  is  in  my  view,  fully  confirmed.  Indeed,  with  the  pro- 
tection of  green  glasses,  my  eyes  are  sufficiently  strong,  to 
enable  me  to  look  steadily  at  the  flame,  during  the  whole  of 
an  experiment,  and  I  can  distinctly  observe  matter  in  dif- 
ferent forms  passing  to  the  zinc  pole,  and  collecting  there, 
just  as  we  see  dust,  or  other  small  bodies  driven  along  by  a 
common  wind;  there  is  also  an  obvious  tremor,  produced  in 
the  copper  pole,  when  the  instrument  is  in  vigorous  action, 
and  we  can  perceive  an  evident  vibration  produced,  as  if,  by 
the  impulse  of  an  elastic  fluid  striking  against  the  opposite 
pole. 

If,  however,  the  opinion  which  you  formerly  suggested 
to  me,  and  which  is  countenanced  by  many  facts,  that  the 
poles  of  the  deflagrator  are  reversed,  the  copper  being  posi- 
tive and  the  zinc  negative  be  correct,  the  phenomena,  as  it 
regards  the  course  of  the  current,  will  accord,  perfectly  well, 
with  the  received  electrical  hypothesis. 

The  number  of  unmelted  substances  being  now  reduced 
to  two,  namely,  the  anthracite,  and  the  diamond,  you  will 
readily  suppose  I  did  not  neglect  to  make  trial  of  them,  as 
however,  the  diamond  is  an  absolute  non-conductor  and  the 
anthracite  very  little  better,  I  cannot  say  I  had  any  serious 
hopes  of  success.  I  have  made  various  attempts,  which  have 
failed,  and  after  losing  two  diamonds,  the  fragments  being 
thrown  about  with  a  strong  decrepitation,  I  have  desisted 
from  the  attempt,  having,  as  I  conceive,  a  more  feasible 
project  in  view. 

I  trust  you  will  not  consider  the  details  of  the  preceding 
pages,  as  being  too  minute,  provided  the  subject  appears  to 


148  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

you  as  interesting  as  it  does  to  me.  The  fusion  of  charcoal 
and  of  plumbago,  is  sufficiently  remarkable,  but  the  evident 
approximation  of  the  material  of  these  bodies  towards  the 
condition  of  diamond,  from  which  they  differ  so  remarkably 
in  their  physical  properties,  affords  if  I  mistake  not,  a  strik- 
ing confirmation  of  some  of  our  leading  chemical  doctrines. 
I  remain  as  ever  your  faithful  friend  and  servant, 

B.  SILLIMAN." 

The  failure  of  the  deflagrator  to  act  when  connected  up 
with  ordinary  voltaic  apparatus  disturbed  Silliman  very 
much, — so  that  in  the  following  letter  he  discusses  at  length 
the  relations  existing  between  the  Deflagrator  and  Calori- 
motor,  and  between  these  instruments  and  the  common  gal- 
vanic or  voltaic  batteries. 

"Dear  Sir:  "Yale  College,  April  4,  1823. 

Through  the  medium  of  the  Journal,  I  have  already  com- 
municated to  you  and  to  the  public,  the  singular  fact,  that 
your  Deflagrator  will  not  act  with  the  common  Galvanic 
Batteries,  in  whatever  mode  they  may  be  connected,  and 
that,  although  belonging  to  the  same  class  of  instruments 
and  evolving  the  same  imponderable  agents,  there  still  exists 
between  them  a  total  incompatibility.  This  incompatibility, 
it  will  be  remembered,  does  not  begin  to  be  overcome,  until 
the  pairs  of  galvanic  plates  are  reduced  to  twenty,  in  number, 
when  the  power  of  the  Deflagrator  begins  to  pass,  and  in- 
creases until  one  pair  only  is  interposed,  when  it  passes  appar- 
ently without  diminution. 

I  am  induced  again  to  call  your  attention  to  this  fact, 
for  the  sake  of  connecting  it,  with  some  observations  which 
I  have  recently  made,  upon  the  relations  between  the  Calori- 
motor  and  Deflagrator,  and  between  these  instruments,  and 
the  common  Galvanic  Batteries,  for  it  is  only  by  varying 
our  observations  and  experiments,  that  we  can  hope  to  arrive 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  149 

at  a  just  explanation,  of  the  singular  phenomena  exhibited 
by  these  instruments. 

1.  I  connected  the  zinc  pole  of  the  Calorimotor,  with 
the  copper  pole  of  the  troughs,  and  vice  versa,  and  then 
dividing  the  troughs  containing  three  hundred  pairs  of  four 
inch  plates,  at  another  place,  connected  them  at  these  new 
poles  by  points  of  well  prepared  charcoal ;  the  sparks  passed 
freely  and  vividly,  nor  did  it,  apparently  make  any  difference, 
whether  the  plates  of  the  Calorimotor,  were  immersed  in  the 
fluid,  or  not.    I  then  disconnected  the  troughs  from  the  Calor- 
imotor, and  connecting  them  together,  received  the  spark, 
which  was  quite  as  vivid,  as  when  the  Calorimotor  formed  a 
part  of  the  series.     I  now  immersed  the  Calorimotor,  and 
found  that  it  acted  by  itself,  with  its  appropriate  energy,  read- 
ily igniting  iron,  and  displaying  its  usual  magnetic  activity. 

2.  The  calorimotor  and  deflagrator  were  connected  in 
such  a  manner,  that  the  former  was  interposed  between  the 
two  equal  divisions  of  forty  coils  each,  contained  in  the  two 
troughs  of  the  Deflagrator;  in  different  trials,  the  con- 
nexion was  varied,  sometimes  the  zinc  poles,  and  sometimes 
the  copper  poles  of  the  two  instruments,  being  connected, 
and  at  other  times,  the  zinc  of  the  one  being  joined  to  the 
copper  of  the  other,  and  vice  versa. 

When  the  metals  of  both  instruments  were  in  the  air,  only 
a  very  feeble  spark  passed  through  the  charcoal  points  con- 
necting the  proper  poles  of  the  Deflagrator.  When  the 
plates  of  the  Calorimotor  were  immersed,  those  of  the  De- 
flagrator being  in  the  air,  the  spark  was  not  increased,  but 
remained  feeble  as  before.  The  coils  of  the  Deflagrator 
being  then  immersed,  the  usual  splendor  of  light,  instantly 
burst  from  the  charcoal  points,  and  all  the  dazzling  bright- 
ness and  intense  heat  of  the  instrument  were  displayed,  but 
without  any  increase  of  power  derived  from  the  Calorimotor. 
The  plates  of  the  Calorimotor  were  now  raised  from  the 


150  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

fluid,  those  of  the  Deflagrator  remaining  immersed,  but  the 
light  and  heat  were  equally  brilliant  as  before.  The  Defla- 
grator and  Calorimotor  were  now  separated,  and  each  pro- 
duced its  appropriate  effects,  in  full  energy. 

3.  The  Calorimotor — the  Deflagrator  and  the  troughs 
containing  the  three  hundred  pairs  of  four  inch  plates,  were 
now  connected  into  one  series,  in  such  a  manner  that  the 
Calorimotor  was  interposed  between  the  two  halves  of  the 
Deflagrator,  the  proper  poles  of  the  latter  instrument  were 
connected  with  the  two  divisions  of  the  troughs;  first,  zinc, 
with  copper,  and  copper  with  zinc,  then  the  reverse,  and  the 
power  was  received  at  the  proper  poles  of  the  troughs,  char- 
coal points  being  used  as  before. 

When  the  metals  both  of  the  Deflagrator  and  Calori- 
motor were  in  the  air,  a  spark  passed,  such  as  corresponded 
with  the  power  of  the  troughs  only;  when  the  Calorimotor 
was  immersed,  this  power  was  neither  increased  nor  dimin- 
ished; but  when  the  Deflagrator  was  immersed,  its  power 
flowed  freely  through  the  batteries,  and  was  received  appar- 
ently undiminished  at  the  charcoal  points,  but  did  not  appear 
to  derive  any  increase  from  the  troughs.  This  was  the  fact, 
whether  the  Calorimotor  was,  at  the  moment  immersed,  or 
not,  but  the  lifting  of  the  coils  of  the  Deflagrator  out  of  the 
fluid,  immediately  reduced  the  spark,  to  that  which  the 
troughs  alone  would  afford. 

The  several  instruments  being  now  disjoined,  each  acted 
by  itself,  in  its  own  appropriate  character. 

4.  The  original  experiment  of  connecting  the  troughs 
with  the  Deflagrator  only,  was  now  again  repeated,  and  with 
the  same  result  as  before ;  the  power  of  both  instruments  was 
so  destroyed,  that  only  a  very  minute  spark  could  be  seen, 
and  that  with  difficulty.    From  these  experiments,  and  those 
formerly  related,  the  following  conclusions  may  be  drawn : — 

1.  The  galvanic  troughs  and  the  deflagrator  paralyse  each 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  151 

other,  and  cannot  be  made  by  any  means  hitherto  tried,  to 
act  in  concert; 

2.  The  Calorimotor  does  not  impede  the  action  of  the 
troughs;  it  allows  their  energy  to  pass  through  itself,  but 
contributes  nothing  to  aid  their  power  and  cannot  be  made 
to  project  its  own  power  through  the  troughs. 

3.  The  same  fact  is  true  of  the  Calorimotor  in  relation 
to  the  Deflagrator;  the  powers  of  these  instruments  cannot 
be  made  to  unite,  only  the  Calorimotor  allows  a  transit  to 
the  power  of  the  Deflagrator;  but  the  Deflagrator  does  not 
in  its  turn,  transmit  the  power  of  the  Calorimotor. 

4.  The  Calorimotor,  however,  when  connected,  at  once 
with  the  troughs  and  with  the  Deflagrator  enables  them  so 
far  to  unite,  that  the  deflagrator  acts  through  the  troughs,  but 
without  deriving  any  increase  of  power  from  them  or  from 
the  Calorimotor;  the  Calorimotor  then  is  an  intermedium 
for  the  troughs  and  the  deflagrator  otherwise  incompatible. 

5.  It  is  impossible  as  far  as  experiment  has  gone,  to 
obtain  any  increase  of  power  by  combining  the  different 
kinds  of  voltaic  apparatus,  and  indeed  it  may  be  doubted 
whether,  when  the  power  passes  at  all,  through  the  instru- 
ments of  different  kinds,  there  is  not  always  some  loss,  from 
the  increased  extent  of  connecting  surface. 

6.  These  various  facts  are  probably  all  referable  to  the 
different  powers,  belonging  to  different  proportions  of  the 
calorific,  electrical,  and  luminous  influence,  excited  by  these 
different  instruments,  agreeably  to  the  theory,  which  you 
have  ingeniously  proposed  and  ably  defended;  this  view 
accords  also  with  the  known  results  of  the  combinations  of 
ponderable  elements,  in  the  different  proportions,  as  of  nitro- 
gen and  oxygen,  and  of  carbon  and  oxygen,  and  of  carbon, 
hydrogen,  and  nitrogen. 

7.  We  are  thus  sent  back,  to  study  our  imponderable 
elements  anew,  and  to  learn,  that  the  voltaic  power  is  not 


152  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

electricity  alone,  nor  heat  alone,  nor  light  alone,  but  a  com- 
pound of  these  three  agents,  variously  proportioned  in  dif- 
ferent cases,  and  in  different  modifications  of  apparatus. 
This,  it  appears,  is  also  true,  of  the  common  mechanical  and 
atmospheric  electricity. 

REMARK. 

As  the  magnetic  influence  attends  all  the  modifications  of 
electricity,  natural  and  artificial,  and  of  the  voltaic  power, 
including  your  new  instruments;  and  as  it  is  exhibited  also 
by  the  solar  beam,  we  are  left  in  doubt,  whether  to  regard 
it  as  a  mere  appendage  of  these  powers,  or  of  some  one  or 
two  of  them,  or  as  a  distinct  influence  or  energy,  incidentally 
associated,  with  the  calorific — calorific  and  electrical  powers. 

But,  as  the  magnetic  influence  is  marvellously  more  pow- 
erful, in  the  Calorimotor,  than  in  the  case  of  any  voltaic, 
electrical  or  optical  instrument,  and  as  the  Calorimotor 
evolves  chiefly  heat,  and  produces  its  magnetic  effects  best 
when  it  produces  no  light  and  no  perceptible  electricity,  it 
would  seem  as  if  the  magnetic  influence  were  rather  an 
attendant,  on  caloric,  or  at  least  in  a  greater  degree,  than  on 
any  other  power. 

It  is  extremely  obvious,  that,  on  all  these  subjects,  we  are 
still  very  humble  learners ;  we  may  however,  confidently  hope, 
that  out  of  these  diversified  results,  and  from  others  still  to 
be  obtained— some  grand  simplification  will  hereafter  arise, 
which  will  reconcile  all  apparently  discordant  facts,  and  per- 
haps evince,  that  all  the  imponderable  influences  are  merely 
modifications  of  one  power — that  they  constitute  the  atmo- 
sphere, which  connects  physical  existence  with  its  author,  and 
exhibit  to  us,  in  the  natural  world,  the  most  immediate  and 
wonderful  efflux  of  his  omnipotent  energy. 
Your  friend  and  servant, 

B.  SILLIMAN." 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  153 

On  April  15,  1823,  Silliman  wrote  Hare  of  new  results 
which  he  had  obtained  by  using  the  oxyhydrogen  flame.  His 
aim  was  to  subject  the  diamond  and  anthracite  to  its  intense 
heat.  In  the  first  experiments  small  diamonds  were  placed 
in  a  cavity  in  charcoal.  The  support,  however,  was  so  rapidly 
consumed,  that  the  diamonds  were  speedily  displaced  by  the 
gas  current.  He  then  took  a  piece  of  solid  quick  lime,  made 
a  chink  in  it  and  crowded  the  diamonds  into  it.  The  lime 
made  an  excellent  support  but  "  the  effulgence  of  light  was 
so  dazzling,  that,  although  through  green  glasses,  I  could 
steadily  inspect  the  focus,  it  was  impossible  to  distinguish 
the  diamond,  in  the  perfect  solar  brightness.  This  mode  of 
conducting  the  experiment,  proved,  however,  perfectly  man- 
ageable, and  a  large  dish,  placed  beneath,  secured  the  dia- 
monds from  being  lost,  (an  accident  which  I  had  more  than 
once  met  with)  when  suddenly  displaced  by  the  current  of 
gas ;  as  however,  the  support  was  not  combustible,  it  remained 
permanent,  except  that  it  was  melted  in  the  whole  region 
of  the  flame,  and  covered  with  a  perfect  white  enamel  of 
vitreous  lime.  The  experiments  were  frequently  suspended 
to  examine  the  effect  on  the  diamonds.  They  were  found 
to  be  rapidly  consumed,  wasting  so  fast,  that  it  was  neces- 
sary in  order  to  examine  them,  to  remove  them  from  the 
heat,  at  very  short  intervals.  They  exhibited  however,  marks 
of  incipient  fusion.  My  experiments  were  performed  upon 
small  wrought  diamonds,  on  which  there  were  numerous 
polished  facets,  presenting  extremely  sharp,  and  well  defined 
solid  edges  and  angles.  These  edges  and  angles  were  always 
rounded  and  generally  obliterated.  The  whole  surface  of 
the  diamond  lost  its  continuity,  and  its  lustre  was  much  im- 
paired; it  exhibited  innumerable  very  minute  indentations, 
and  intermediate  and  corresponding  salient  points ;  the  whole 
presenting  the  appearance  of  having  been  superficially  soft- 
ened, and  indented  by  the  current  of  gas,  or  perhaps  of  hav- 


154  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

ing  had  its  surface  unequally  removed,  by  the  combustion. 
In  various  places,  near  the  edges,  the  diamond  was  con- 
sumed, with  deep  indentations,  and  occasionally  where  a 
fragment  had  snapped  off,  by  decrepitation,  it  disclosed  a 
conchoidal  fracture  and  a  vitreous  lustre.  These  results  were 
nearly  uniform,  in  various  trials,  and  every  thing  seems  to 
indicate  that  were  the  diamond  a  good  conductor,  it  would 
be  melted  by  the  deflagrator,  and  were  it  combustible,  a 
globule  would  be  obtained  by  the  compound  blowpipe. 

In  one  experiment,  in  which  I  used  a  support  of  plum- 
bago, there  were  some  interesting  varieties  in  the  phenomena. 
The  plumbago  being  a  conductor,  the  light  did  not  accumulate 
as  it  did  when  the  support  was  lime,  but  permitted  me  dis- 
tinctly to  see  the  diamond  through  the  whole  experiment. 
It  was  consumed  with  great  rapidity ;  a  delicate  halo  of  bluish 
light,  clearly  distinguishable  from  the  blowpipe  flame,  hov- 
ered over  it;  the  surface  appeared  as  if  softened,  numerous 
distinct  but  very  minute  scintillations  were  darted  from  it  in 
every  direction,  and  I  could  see  the  minute  cavities  and  pro- 
jections which  I  have  mentioned,  forming  every  instant.  In 
this  experiment  I  gave  the  diamond  but  one  heat  of  about  a 
minute,  but  on  examining  it  with  a  magnifier,  I  was  surprised 
to  find,  that  only  a  very  thin  layer  of  the  gem,  not  much  thicker 
than  writing  paper  remained,  the  rest  having  been  burnt. 

I  subjected  the  anthracite  of  Wilkesbarre,  Perm.,  to 
similar  trials,  and  by  heating  it  very  gradually,  its  decrepita- 
tion was  obviated.  It  was  consumed,  with  almost  as  much 
rapidity,  as  the  diamond;  but  exhibited,  during  the  action  of 
the  heat,  an  evident  appearance  of  being  superficially  soft- 
ened ;  I  could  also  distinctly  see,  in  the  midst  of  the  intense 
glare  of  light,  very  minute  globules  forming  upon  the  surface. 
.  .  .  The  remark  already  made,  respecting  the  diamond, 
appears  to  be  equally  applicable  to  the  anthracite,  i.  e.  that 
its  want  of  conducting  power,  is  the  reason  why  it  is  not 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  155 

melted  by  the  deflagrator,  and  its  combustibility  is  the  sole 
obstacle  to  its  complete  fusion  by  the  compound  blowpipe. 

I  next  subjected  a  parallelepiped  of  plumbago  to  the 
compound  flame.  It  was  consumed  with  considerable  rapid- 
ity, but  presented  at  the  same  time,  numerous  globules  of 
melted  matter.  .  .  . 

In  subsequent  trials,  upon  pieces  from  various  localities, 
foreign  and  domestic,  (confined  however  to  very  pure  speci- 
mens,) I  obtained  still  more  decided  results;  the  white  trans- 
parent globules  became  very  numerous  and  as  large  as  small 
shot;  they  scratched  window  glass — were  tasteless — harsh 
when  crushed  between  the  teeth,  and  they  were  not  magnetic. 
They  very  much  resembled  melted  silex. 

I  find  that  the  fusion  of  the  plumbago  by  the  compound 
blowpipe  is  by  no  means  difficult,  and  the  instrument  being 
in  good  order,  good  results  may  be  anticipated  with  certainty. 

I  would  add,  that  for  the  mere  fusion  of  plumbago,  the 
blowpipe  is  much  preferable  to  the  deflagrator,  but  a  variety 
of  interesting  phenomena  in  relation  to  both  plumbago  and 

charcoal  are  exhibited  by  the  latter  and  not  by  the  former 

B.  SILLIMAN." 

In  a  postscript  written  three  days  later  he  continued, 
after  commenting  on  his  results  with  anthracite  from  various 
places : 

"  I  have  exposed  a  diamond  this  afternoon  to  the  solar 
focus  in  a  jar  of  pure  oxygen  gas,  but  observed  no  signs  of 
fusion,  nor  indeed  did  I  expect  it,  but  I  wished  to  compare 
this  old  experiment  with  those  related  above. 

The  diamond  is  now  the  only  substance  which  has  not 
been  perfectly  melted." 

In  this  year  (1824)  Hare  advised  Silliman  further  as  to 
improved  deflagrators.  Having  found  that  the  deflagrating 
power  of  a  series  of  galvanic  plates  was  surprisingly  in- 


156  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

creased  by  their  simultaneous  exposure  to  acid,  various 
methods  of  accomplishing  this  suggested  themselves.  He 
informs  him  that  in  the  apparatus  he  had  sent  him  as  all  the 
coils  were  suspended  from  two  beams  they  could  be  lowered 
into  the  troughs  of  acid.  In  another  form  which  he  had 
reported  the  troughs  containing  the  acid  were  caused  to  rise 
which  insured  a  simultaneous  immersion  of  the  plates;  but 
a  still  better  mode  had  suggested  itself  to  him.  This  con- 
sisted in  joining  two  troughs  lengthwise,  edge  to  edge,  "  so 
that  when  the  sides  of  the  one  are  vertical,  those  of  the  other 
must  be  horizontal; "  so  that  by  a  partial  revolution  of  the 
two  troughs,  thus  united,  upon  pivots  which  support  them  at 
the  ends,  any  fluid  which  may  be  in  one  trough,  must  flow 
into  the  other,  and  reversing  the  motion  must  flow  back 
again.  .  «  ^  , 

"  The  observations,  which  are  the  subject  of  this  com- 
munication, combined  with  those  which  you  have  made,  of  the 
incapacity  of  the  deflagrator,  and  Voltaic  series  in  the  usual 
form,  to  act,  when  in  combination  with  each  other;  must 
justify  us,  in  considering  the  former,  as  a  galvanic  instru- 
ment, having  great  and  peculiar  powers. 

Since  the  above  was  written,  I  have  tried  my  series  of 
300  pairs.  The  projectile  power,  and  the  shock,  were  pro- 
portionally great,  but  the  deflagrating  power  was  not  in- 
creased in  proportion.  The  light  was  so  intense,  that  falling 
upon  some  adjacent  buildings,  it  had  the  appearance  of  sun- 
shine. Having  had  another  series  of  300  pairs  made  for 
Mr.  Macnevin  of  New  York,  on  trying  it,  I  connected  it 
with  mine,  both  collaterally  and  consecutively,  so  as  to  make 
in  the  one  case  a  series  of  six  hundred, — in  the  other  a  series, 
half  that  in  number,  but  equal  in  extent  of  surfaces.  The 
shock  of  the  two,  consecutively,  was  apparently  doubly  as 
severe,  as  the  shock  produced  by  one ;  but  the  other  phenom- 
ena seemed  to  me  nearly  equally  brilliant,  in  either  way. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  157 

The  white  globules  which  you  mentioned,  were  formed 
copiously  on  the  ignited  plumbago,  especially  in  vacuo.  I 
have  not  had  leisure  to  test  them,  being  arduously  occupied, 
in  my  course  of  lectures,  and  in  some  efforts  to  improve  the 
means  of  experimental  illustration." 

As  early  as  1827  Olmsted  made  criticism  upon  the  argu- 
ments which  Hare  had  advanced  "  respecting  the  materiality 
of  heat."  Hare's  reply  presented  nothing  novel.  It  was 
throughout  controversial,  but  a  little  later  he  resumed  the  sub- 
ject, and  as  it  shows  how  strongly  he  did  appear  in  his  discus- 
sions it  may  perhaps  be  well  to  reproduce  his  language  in  ex- 
tenso.  He  was  truly  no  mean  antagonist.  He  thus  begins: 

"  In  the  last  number  of  the  American  Journal  of  Science, 
Professor  Olmsted  alleges  that  I  have  committed  an  over- 
sight in  making  Davy's  hypothesis  "  wear  a  much  more 
mechanical  aspect  "  than  it  did  originally,  and  in  "Applying 
to  it  principles  which  have  no  bearing  on  it  whatever." 

According  to  Johnson's  Dictionary,  mechanics  is  the 
geometry  of  motion,  a  science  which  shews  the  effect  of 
powers,  or  moving  forces,  so  as  they  are  applied  to  engines, 
and  "  demonstrates  the  laws  of  motion." 

The  phenomena  of  heat  being  by  Sir  H.  Davy  ascribed 
to  motion,  how  can  my  arguments,  shewing  that  they  are 
not  agreeable  to  the  laws  of  motion,  makes  that  hypothesis  un- 
duly "wear  a  mechanical  aspect"  or  subject  it  to  an  applica- 
tion of  principles  "  which  have  no  bearing  on  it  whatever?  " 

In  his  first  critique,  the  author  alleged  Davy's  reasonings 
to  be ff  idle  "  because  they  were  "  mechanical" 

A  sufficient  answer  to  this  objection,  was  afforded  in  my 
essay  in  the  following  language: 

"  It  may  be  said  that  this  motion  is  not  measurable  upon 
mechanical  principles.  How  then,  I  ask,  does  it  produce 
mechanical  effects?  These  must  be  produced  by  the  force  of 


158  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

the  vibrations,  which  are  by  the  hypothesis  mechanical:  for 
whatever  laws  hold  good  in  relation  to  moving  matter  in 
mass,  must  operate  in  regard  to  each  particle  of  that  matter. 
The  effect  of  the  former,  can  only  be  a  multiple  of  that  of 
the  latter.  Indeed  one  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy's  reasons  for 
attributing  heat  to  corpuscular  vibration,  is,  that  mechanical 
attrition  generates  it.  Surely  then  a  motion  produced  by 
mechanical  means,  and  which  produces  mechanical  effects, 
may  be  estimated  on  mechanical  principles." 

"In  the  hypothesis  (says  Professor  Olmsted),  the  mo- 
tions supposed,  are  those  which  occur  between  particles  of 
matter,  and  at  insensible  distances.  In  the  refutation,  the 
principles  applied  are  such  as  belong  to  those  motions  which 
occur  between  masses  of  matter,  and  at  sensible  distances." 

The  laws  which  regulate  the  production,  or  transfer,  of 
motion,  being  established  as  respects  any  given  mass,  or 
quantity,  can  the  division  of  it  into  two  parts,  ten  parts,  or  a 
million  parts,  or  into  any  possible  number  of  parts,  or  par- 
ticles, render  those  laws  inapplicable?  The  same  argument 
may  be  opposed  to  his  distinction  between  the  sensible  and 
insensible  distances,  as  if  a  law  could  cease  to  operate  in 
consequence  of  the  spaces  being  too  small  for  our  vision!!! 

Since  a  whole  can  be  no  more  than  a  multiple  of  its  parts, 
a  law  cannot  be  true  of  motion,  in  any  given  distance,  which 
does  not  hold  good  with  respect  to  any  part  of  that  distance. 

The  minuteness  of  the  distances  within  which  movements 
can  take  place,  in  solids,  is  cited  by  me,  as  a  potent  objection 
to  ascribing  to  intestine  motion  the  expansive  power  imparted 
by  them,  when  heated,  to  vaporizable  substances,  as  in  the 
case  of  water  converted  into  steam  by  hot  iron;  but  as  such 
phenomena  do  result  from  intestine  motion,  and  if  the  trans- 
fer of  expansive  power,  be  a  transfer  of  such  motion,  however 
insensibly  small  may  be  the  spaces  in  which  it  occurs,  how- 
ever minute  the  atoms  concerned,  how  otherwise  can  they  be 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  159 

regulated,  than  by  the  same  laws  which  are  found  to  hold 
good  in  the  case  of  larger  spaces,  and  larger  masses. 

Professor  Olmsted  proceeds: 

"  The  motions  contemplated  by  the  hypothesis,  are  either 
rotary,  or  vibratory;  those  supposed,  in  the  refutation,  are 
rectilinear,  and  in  one  continued  direction;  for  to  no  other 
does  the  law  of  percussion  adduced  apply." 

As  this  allegation  is  unsupported  by  any  proof,  it  can 
have  but  little  weight.  I  will  however  throw  my  opinion  into 
the  opposite  scale.  I  do  assert  that  the  law,  which  I  have 
laid  down,  is  universally  applicable  where  motion  is  com- 
municated, from  one  moving  body,  or  set  of  bodies  to  another 
body,  or  set  of  bodies,  whether  the  movements  be  vibrator}7, 
rotatory,  or  rectilinear. 

If  while  two  planets  are  revolving,  or  two  pendulums 
vibrating,  one  overtake  the  other,  will  not  the  heavier  be  least 
altered  from  its  previous  motion?  If  two  wheels,  two  globes, 
or  two  cylinders,  while  rapidly  rotating,  were  to  come  into 
contact,  would  not  the  same  law  prevail? 

"  The  refutation  (says  Professor  Olmsted)  supposes  the 
particles  to  come  into  collision,  each  upon  each ;  whereas  the 
hypothesis  does  not  warrant  the  supposition  that  any  two  par- 
ticles ever  strike  against  each  other  at  all.  For  it  is  plain 
that  the  revolutions  of  particles  round  their  own  axes,  do  not 
bring  them  into  collision  with  each  other,  nor  do  the  vibra- 
tions of  the  particles  make  it  necessary  to  suppose  that  they 
ever  hit  each  other ;  for  if  there  be  space  enough  between  the 
particles  to  permit  them  to  vibrate  at  all,  it  is  clear  that  they 
may  vibrate  without  coming  into  collision. 

"  Finally,  if  they  did  impinge  against  one  another,  it 
must  be  remembered  that  the  motion  is  backwards  and  for- 
wards, and  therefore  this  is  not  a  case  to  which  the  law  of 
percussion,  as  adduced  by  Dr.  Hare  applies." 

"  I  cannot  but  think  therefore  that  Dr.  Hare  has  refuted 


160  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

a  consequence,  not  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy's  but  of  his  own 
creating." 

It  were  obviously  as  absurd  to  allege,  that  particles  can- 
not move  without  coming  into  collision,  as  to  assert  that  the 
bow  of  a  violin  cannot  move  unless  it  rub  against  the  strings. 
Yet  as  in  the  one  case,  friction  is  necessary  to  produce  music, 
so  in  the  other,  collision  is  indispensable  to  keep  the  particles 
asunder.  Would  the  diurnal  movements  of  the  planets  pre- 
vent them  from  falling  into  the  sun?  Their  annual  motion 
has  this  effect,  by  generating  a  centrifugal  force ;  but  it  can- 
not be  imagined  that  in  every  mass,  expanded  by  heat,  the 
particles,  by  revolving  about  a  common  center  of  gravity, 
generate  a  centrifugal  force  which,  counteracts  cohesive 
attraction;  and  thus,  enables  them  to  exist  at  a  greater  dis- 
tance from  each  other. 

When  by  the  affusion  of  hot  water  upon  mercury,  the 
temperature  of  the  latter  is  raised,  how  can  the  velocity  of 
the  vibrations  in  which  temperature  consists,  according  to 
the  hypothesis,  be  increased  in  the  last  mentioned  liquid, 
without  collision  between  the  mercurial  and  aqueous  atoms? 
While  they  remain  asunder,  the  particles  can  have  no  influence 
upon  each  other,  unless  through  the  medium  of  some  inherent 
property  of  attraction,  or  repulsion.  On  the  former,  motion 
is  the  opponent,  of  the  latter  the  substitute,  by  the  premises. 

If  motion  be  not  productive  of  a  collision  among  the  par- 
ticles, in  what  way  can  it  enable  them  to  sustain  that  remote- 
ness, in  their  respective  situations,  which  expansion  requires? 
It  cannot  be  supposed  that  they  will  become  either  reciprocally 
repulsive  or  less  susceptible  of  cohesive  attraction,  merely 
in  consequence  of  their  undergoing  a  vibratory  movement. 

Professor  Olmsted  had  evidently  a  very  imperfect  recol- 
lection of  the  design,  or  execution  of  my  essay,  when  he  wrote 
his  critique;  or  he  could  not  have  denounced  it  as  idly  em- 
ploying, in  chemistry,  those  mechanical  reasonings  which  it 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  161 

was  intended  to  explode.  In  the  last  number  of  the  Journal, 
I  devoted  a  page  to  the  exposure  of  his  error,  in  speaking 
of  my  essay,  as  intended  to  prove  the  materiality  of  heat, 
although  described  as  remarks  made  in  opposition  to  Davy's 
hypothesis.  In  the  article  now  under  consideration,  he  re- 
peats this  error  in  the  following  words. 

"  In  the  year  1822,  Dr.  Hare  published  an  essay  aiming 
to  prove  that  caloric,  or  the  cause  of  heat,  is  a  material  fluid." 

I  never  wrote  an  essay  of  which  this  is  a  correct  descrip- 
tion. It  did  not  appear  to  me  expedient  to  recapitulate  all 
the  various  well  known  arguments  in  favor  of  a  material 
cause  of  calorific  repulsion.  To  explain  the  phenomena  of 
heat,  but  two  hypotheses  had  been  suggested,  one  ascribing 
them  to  caloric,  the  other  to  motion.  The  object  of  my 
essay  was  mainly  to  shew,  that  motion  could  not  be  the  cause 
of  heat,  and  I  only  incidentally  introduced  some  direct  argu- 
ments of  a  material  cause. 

I  shall  proceed  to  give  other  instances  of  the  precipitancy 
of  Professor  Olmsted,  in  adopting  the  unfavorable  impres- 
sions of  my  essay  with  which  he  occupies  the  pages  of  the 
American  Journal  of  Science.  The  existence  of  repulsion 
and  attraction  as  properties  of  matter,  being  referred  to,  as 
self-evident,  and  their  co-existence  as  properties  of  the  same 
particles,  shewn  to  be  inconceivable,  I  assumed  that  there 
must  be  a  "  matter  in  which  repulsion  resides,"  "  as  well  as  a 
matter  in  which  attraction  resides." 

This  induces  Professor  Olmsted  to  make  the  following 
inquiry : 

"  Does  Dr.  Hare  maintain  that  the  attraction  which 
bodies  exert,  resides  in  a  kind  of  matter  extrinsic  to  the 
bodies  themselves?  " 

It  would  be  impossible,  I  think,  to  give  a  better  answer  to 
this  query  than  is  afforded  by  the  following  words  of  my 
neglected  essay,  words  contained  in  the  very  next  paragraph 
11 


162  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

below  that  which  has  given  rise  to  Professor  Olmsted's 
embarrassment. 

"  Substances  endowed  with  attraction  make  themselves 
known  to  us  by  that  species  of  this  power  which  we  call 
gravitation,  by  which  they  are  drawn  towards  the  earth  and 
are  therefore  heavy  or  ponderable,  by  their  resistance  to  our 
bodies,  producing  the  sensation  of  feeling,  or  touch;  and  by 
the  vibrations  or  movements  which  they  excite  in  other  mat- 
ter, affecting  the  ear  with  sounds,  and  the  eye  by  a  modified 
reflection  of  light." 

Will  the  Professor,  after  reading  this  sentence,  require 
any  further  information  respecting  the  kind  of  matter  in 
which  attraction  resides,  pursuant  to  my  view  of  the  subject? 
Independently  of  this  sentence,  which  I  deem  it  unjustifiable 
in  him  to  have  neglected,  I  do  not  know  how  he  could  take  up 
the  idea,  that  I  considered  the  matter,  in  which  attraction 
resides,  as  any  other  than  that,  usually  recognized  as  matter, 
by  people  of  common  sense.  Does  my  allegation  that  there 
must  be  as  many  kinds  of  matter  as  there  are  incompatible 
properties,  convey  the  idea,  that  there  must  be  more  kinds 
of  matter  than  there  are  of  such  properties? 

Founding  injudicious  inferences  with  respect  to  my 
opinions  upon  errors,  arising  from  his  own  inattention,  the 
Professor  proceeds: 

"  I  have  met  with  no  late  writer  who  has  taken  it  for 
granted  that  there  is  matter  in  which  attraction  resides,  dis- 
tinct from  the  bodies  themselves,  which  exert  this  influence 
on  each  other.  But  if  Dr.  Hare  is  not  thus  to  be  understood, 
— if  he  do  not  mean  to  assert  such  a  doctrine,  then  why  does 
he  conceive  it  necessary  to  suppose  a  fluid  upon  which  the 
phenomena  of  repulsion  depend, — in  which  the  self -repellent 
power  resides,  distinct  from  the  bodies  themselves,  which  ex- 
hibit such  repulsion?  " 

I  have  said  that  the  particles  of  ponderable  matter  ob- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  163 

viously  possess  the  power  of  mutual  attraction;  they  cannot 
then  be  endowed  at  the  same  time  with  reciprocal  repulsion. 
But  if  they  cannot  be  endowed  with  repulsion,  why  should 
they  be  endowed  with  attraction?  says  my  antagonist. 

If  I  were  to  allege  the  whiteness  of  a  thing  as  a  reason 
why  it  could  not  be  black,  would  any  person  in  his  senses  say, 
but  if  it  cannot  be  black,  how  can  it  be  white?  Does  the 
presence  of  attraction  prove  the  absence  of  attraction,  because 
it  proves  the  absence  of  repulsion? 

Since  there  is  no  permanent  quality  observed  in  the  par- 
ticles of  ponderable  matter,  inconsistent  with  their  exercising 
attraction,  and  as  it  would  be  unphilosophical  to  suppose 
more  causes  than  are  necessary  to  explain  the  phenomena, 
so  it  would  be  unreasonable  to  ascribe  their  attractive  power 
to  an  extraneous  principle.  I  allude  to  attraction  of  co- 
hesion, or  gravitation.  That  chemical  affinity  is  much  under 
the  influence  of  the  electric  fluid,  is  now  generally  admitted. 
But  to  return  to  the  critique. 

™  Will  Dr.  Hare  explain  the  fact  that  caloric  sometimes 
increases  the  attraction  of  bodies  for  each  other?  "  What 
would  he  say  of  the  fact,  that  the  attraction  of  two  gases,  is 
sometimes  increased  by  heat?  " 

I  will  not  undertake  to  explain  that,  which  does  not  occur. 
When  a  mixture  of  hydrogen  and  oxygen  gas  is  heated,  it  ex- 
pands. So  long  as  expansion  continues  it  is  obvious  that  caloric 
does  not  increase  attraction.  At  the  temperature  of  ignition 
the  heterogeneous  particles  combine,  and  an  explosion  ensues. 

Thus  at  the  same  moment  that  the  simple  atoms  unite, 
the  compound  atoms,  formed  by  their  union,  separate  ex- 
plosively. The  elevation  of  temperature  does  not  therefore 
increase  attraction,  it  only  favors  the  union  of  heterogeneous 
particles,  by  some  unknown  process.  In  a  mixture  of  hy- 
drogen and  oxygen  gas,  the  caloric  with  which  they  are  sev- 
erally combined,  may  attach  itself  to  both  poles  of  each 


164  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

simple  particle;  after  their  union,  to  only  one  pole  of  each 
simple  particle ;  and  of  course,  to  two  poles  of  the  compound 
particle  forming  water.  Elevation  of  temperature  may  favor 
this  change  by  its  mysterious  influence  on  the  electric  polar- 
ities of  the  particles;  as  in  the  case  of  the  tourmaline: — or 
because  the  enlargement  of  the  calorific  atmospheres,  renders 
the  preservation  of  their  independency  more  difficult. 

That  caloric  is  alternately  an  exciting  cause  of  combina- 
tion, and  decomposition,  we  all  know.  Mercury  is  oxydised 
at  one  temperature,  and  revived  at  another.  At  one  tem- 
perature hydrogen  yields  chlorine  to  silver,  at  another  de- 
composes the  chloride  of  that  metal.  At  a  low  temperature, 
potassium  absorbs  oxygen  more  greedily  than  carbon,  or 
iron,  while  the  reverse  is  true,  when  these  are  heated  to  in- 
candescence. I  have  long  suspected  that  heat  promotes  and 
modifies  chemical  action,  by  influencing  electrical  polarities. 
The  elements  of  water  are  severed  by  the  voltaic  poles.  If 
in  this  case  their  polarity  is  influenced  in  one  way,  elevation 
of  temperature,  when  it  causes  their  reunion,  must  have  an 
opposite  effect,  and  of  course  must  influence  polarity. 

I  suppose  in  this  case  a  change  in  the  attractive  power  of 
the  poles,  of  combining  atoms,  analogous  to  that  which  may 
be  induced  in  iron  bars,  which  attract  or  repel  each  other 
accordingly  as  the  magnetism  communicated  to  their  poles, 
is  alike  or  unlike. 

Platina  sponge,  a  cold  metallic  mass,  is  found  to  cause  the 
union  of  the  hydrogen  and  oxygen  in  a  gaseous  mixture:  yet 
it  is  utterly  inconceivable  that  the  presence  of  inert  particles, 
combining  with  neither  of  the  elements  of  water,  can  cause 
an  increase  of  attraction  between  them. 

That  the  phenomena  just  alluded  to,  belong  to  a  depart- 
ment of  chemistry,  with  which  we  are  but  imperfectly  ac- 
quainted, I  admit;  but  on  that  very  account  inferences, 
founded  on  them,  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  invalidate  the 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  165 

demonstration,  of  which  the  existence  of  a  material  cause  of 
heat  is,  upon  other  grounds,  susceptible. 

Professor  Olmsted  cannot  discover  that  there  is 

"  Any  more  difficulty  in  conceiving  why  a  heated  body 
should  communicate  its  influence  to  another  body  without 
the  aid  of  air,  than  why  the  Sun  should  communicate  his 
attractive  influence  to  Saturn  or  Uranus  without  the  aid  of 
such  a  medium"!!! 

It  would  seem  then  that  Professor  Olmsted  is  of  opinion, 
that  the  planets  owe  their  power  of  attracting  each  other,  and 
all  the  bodies  on  or  near  their  surfaces  to  the  Sun,  as  they 
owe  their  light ;  and  that  his  removal  from  the  system  would 
simultaneously  involve  them  in  darkness,  and  destroy  the  re- 
ciprocal attraction  between  them,  and  their  satellites.  This  is 
a  glaring  error.  The  reaction  between  the  Sun  and  the  planets, 
is  reciprocal,  arising  from  a  quantity  inseparable  from  either, 
and  which  admits  of  no  increase,  transfer,  or  diminution. 

If  the  Sun  did  ff  communicate  his  attractive  influence  " 
to  the  other  bodies  in  the  solar  system,  I  should  be  unable 
to  say  why  he  might  not  communicate  any  other  property. 
The  transmission  of  heat,  in  vacuo,  is  analogous  to  the  radia- 
tion of  light  not  the  reciprocal  influence  of  gravitation.  If 
the  illumination  of  Saturn  or  Uranus,  could  be  explained 
without  supposing  the  existence  of  a  material  fluid,  I  grant 
that  the  passage  of  heat  in  vacuo  ought  to  admit  of  a  similar 
explanation. 

But  as  it  is  to  me  inconceivable,  and  contradictory  to  the 
obvious  meaning  of  the  word,  to  suppose  the  existence  of  a 
property  without  matter  to  which  it  may  belong;  so  it  appears 
impossible  that  there  can  be  a  transfer  of  a  property,  effected 
through  a  space  otherwise  void,  without  a  transfer  of  matter. 

The  following  paragraph  was  written  in  opposition  to  the 
hypothesis  of  motion,  it  is  noticed  by  Professor  Olmsted,  as  if 
intended  directly  to  support  the  materiality  of  heat,  as  the 
reader  will  perceive  by  his  remarks  which  I  shall  also  quote. 


166  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

"As  in  order  for  one  body  or  set  of  bodies  in  motion  to 
resist  another  body  or  set  of  bodies  in  the  same  state,  the 
velocity  must  be  as  much  greater,  as  the  weight  may  be  less, 
it  is  inconceivable  that  the  particles  of  steam  should  by  any 
force,  arising  from  their  motion,  impart  to  the  piston  of  a 
steam  engine  the  wonted  power;  or  that  the  particles  of  air 
should  prevent  a  column  of  mercury,  almost  infinitely  heavier, 
from  entering  any  space  in  which  they  may  be  included  by 
beating  it  out  of  the  theatre  of  their  vibratory,  and  rotatory 
movements. 

"  Has  not  Dr.  Hare  plainly  fallen  into  a  mistake  here? 
It  evidently  is  not  heat  which  moves  the  piston  of  a  steam- 
engine,  but  it  is  the  elastic  force  of  steam.  But,  it  may  be 
asked,  is  not  that  elasticity  caused  by  heat?  True;  but  the 
effect  is  not  the  same  thing  with  the  cause." 

Was  ever  an  inquiry  more  irrelevant?  Where  have  I 
said  that  heat  does  move  the  piston  of  a  steam-engine?  In 
the  paragraph  above  quoted  which  gives  rise  to  the  inquiry, 
I  have  only  argued  that  motion  produced  among  the  aqueous 
particles,  by  the  heated  boiler,  cannot  move  the  piston.  In 
order  to  shew  that  I  have  committed  a  mistake  ff  here/'  it 
must  be  proved  that  it  is  conceivable  that  the  particles  of  steam 
should  by  a  force  arising  from  their  motion,  impart  to  the  pis- 
ton the  wonted  power,  or  that  particles  of  air,  should,  in  like 
manner,  ce  support  a  column  of  mercury  infinitely  heavier." 

It  evidently  would  be  absurd  to  suppose  that  the  piston 
of  a  steam  engine  could  be  propelled,  by  the  direct  influence 
of  caloric,  without  the  intermediate  effect  of  the  elasticity  of 
vapor. 

The  author  combats  strange  opinions,  peculiar  to  his  own 
imagination,  as  if  I  were  answerable  for  them. 

"  It  is  difficult,"  says  Professor  Olmsted,  "  to  see  why 
heat  should  impart  such  a  wonderful  power  to  steam ;  nor  does 
our  supposing  it  to  be  a  material  fluid  diminish  this  diffi- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  167 

culty."  He  might  with  equal  propriety  add,  it  is  difficult 
to  understand  how  light  can  impart  to  the  objects  around 
us,  the  wonderful  property  of  conveying  their  images  to  the 
sensorium;  nor  does  the  idea  of  a  material  fluid,  passing  from 
them  to  the  retina  of  the  eye,  diminish  the  difficulty. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  why  lead  should  be  heavy; 
nor  does  the  idea,  that  the  earth  attracts  it,  diminish  the 
difficulty. 

My  mind  is  much  less  embarrassed  by  supposing  a  cause, 
where  I  observe  an  effect.  Wonderful  as  it  is,  that  the  earth 
should  by  solar  attraction  be  kept  in  its  orbit,  to  me  it  is 
much  less  wonderful  than  if  there  were  no  sun  to  attract  it; 
wonderful  as  it  is  that  all  the  phenomena  of  vision  should  be 
due  to  the  reflection,  refraction,  or  polarization  of  a  subtile 
matter  emanated  from  every  luminous  point  in  the  creation, 
the  phenomena  in  question  appear  to  me  far  less  perplexing, 
than  when  I  endeavor  to  dispense  with  the  agency  of  a  ma- 
terial cause.  The  opposite  properties  of  the  tenacity  of  ice, 
and  the  explosiveness  of  steam,  however  surprising,  are  less 
so  when  considered  as  belonging  to  different  kinds  of  matter, 
than  when  I  suppose  them  alternately  assumed  by  the  same 
particles,  so  as  to  cohere  at  one  time,  and  at  another  fly  apart, 
with  violence,  without  any  cause  for  the  change. 

It  seems  to  me,  that  without  the  special  interference  of 
the  Creator,  the  properties  of  any  species  of  matter  must 
always  remain  the  same.  Should  any  property  appear  to 
cease,  or  to  be  varied,  there  must  be  an  accession,  or  an  avola- 
tion  of  matter  differently  endowed,  from  that  in  which  the 
change  is  observed. 

"Has  not  Dr.  Hare  committed  a  mistake  in  understand- 
ing Sir  Humphry  Davy  to  assert  that  heat  is  motion; 
whereas,  his  doctrine  is,  that  motion  is  the  cause  of  heat." 

The  author  forgets  that  the  word  heat  is  used  to  signify 
a  cause  as  well  as  an  effect;  when  I  have  spoken  of  motion 


168  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

as  substituted  for  heat,  I  meant  that  it  was  substituted  for  the 
cause  of  sensible  heat.  The  phenomenon  which  we  call  sensi- 
ble heat,  is  the  effect  of  motion  according  to  one  hypothesis 
of  caloric,  or  latent  heat  according  to  the  other.  It  appears, 
therefore,  that  when  correctly  examined,  the  definition  which 
I  have  given  of  Davy's  hypothesis  is  the  same  as  that  which 
the  author  sanctions. 

To  conclude,  I  regret  that  instead  of  having  only  to 
encounter  difficulties  inherent  in  the  subject,  I  should  be 
obliged  to  occupy  so  many  pages  in  refuting  criticisms, 
respecting  which,  I  can  sincerely  say  in  the  author's  own 
language,  that  they  are  <( idle"  and  have  " no  bearing  what- 
ever" upon  the  subject,  which  has  called  them  forth." 

Frequently  the  attention  of  Hare  was  directed  to  subjects 
having  some  connection  with  his  favorite  topic,  electricity, 
and  among  these  were  the  comments  on  inadequate  protec- 
tion afforded  by  lightning  rods,  so  that  it  is  not  at  all  sur- 
prising to  read  (1828) : 

"  This  influence  of  the  media,  in  which  conductors  ter- 
minate, has  not  been  sufficiently  insisted  upon  in  treatises 
on  electricity.  I  should  not  consider  a  metallic  rod,  ter- 
minating, without  any  enlargement  of  surface,  in  the  water 
of  the  earth,  as  an  adequate  protection  against  lightning ;  but 
were  such  conductors  to  terminate  in  metallic  sheets,  buried 
in  the  earth  or  immersed  in  the  sea,  or  by  a  connexion  duly 
made  with  the  iron  pipes,  with  which  our  city  is  watered,  or 
the  copper  with  which  ships  are  generally  sheathed,  I  should 
have  the  most  perfect  confidence  in  their  competency. 

It  is  not  only  important  that  the  points  of  contact,  be- 
tween the  metallic  mass,  employed  to  afford  lightning  an 
adequate  passage,  and  the  earth  or  water,  in  which  it  ter- 
minates, should  be  so  multiplied  as  to  compensate  for  the  in- 
ferior conducting  power  of  the  earth  or  water;  but  it  is  also 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  169 

necessary  that  the  conducting  rod  be  as  continuous  as  pos- 
sible. When  conductors  are  to  be  stationary,  as  when  ap- 
plied to  buildings,  they  should  consist  of  pieces  screwed  to- 
gether, or  preferably,  joined  by  solder,  as  well  as  by  screwing. 
When  flexibility  is  requisite,  the  joints  should  be  neatly 
made,  like  those  of  the  irons  in  fall  top  carriages ;  and  should 
be  riveted  so  as  to  ensure  a  close  contact  at  the  junctures. 

In  all  cases,  the  ordinary,  but  important  precaution  of 
having  the  rod  to  terminate  above,  in  a  fine  clean  point, 
should  be  attended  to.  Where  platina  tips  cannot  be  had, 
multiplying  the  points  by  splitting  the  rod  into  a  ramifica- 
tion of  pointed  wires,  may  compensate  for  the  diminution 
of  conducting  power,  arising  from  rust. 

The  efficacy  of  the  point  or  points  is,  however,  dependent 
on  the  continuity  of  the  conductor  of  which  I  have  already 
spoken;  since  it  is  well  known,  that  if  a  pointed  rod  be  cut 
into  parts,  so  as  to  produce  intervals,  bounded  by  blunt 
terminations,  its  efficacy  will  not  be  much  greater  than  if  it 
had  no  point;  because  the  fluid  will,  in  that  case,  pass  in 
sparks,  instead  of  being  transmitted  in  a  current.  It  is  on 
this  account  that  I  object  to  chains,  or  rods  joined  by  loops 
or  hooks  and  eyes." 

Now  and  again  he  would  burst  forth  in  refutation  of 
erroneous  ideas  contained  in  accepted  texts.  For  example, 
after  reading  the  following  allegation  in  the  American  Edi- 
tion of  Turner's  Chemistry: 

'  The  electricity  which  is  so  freely  and  unceasingly  evolved 
during  the  action  of  a  good  electrical  machine,  is  derived  from 
the  great  reservoir  of  electricity,  the  earth." 

He  wrote: 

"  I  conceive  that  the  earth  has  never,  of  necessity,  any 
association  with  the  phenomena  of  the  electric  machine;  of 
which  the  power  is  evidently  dependent  on  the  efficacy  of  the 


170  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

electric,  in  transferring  the  fluid  from  negative  to  the  posi- 
tive conductor.  When  the  conductors  are  both  insulated,  by 
the  revolution  of  the  electric  they  are  brought  into  states  of 
excitement  as  opposite,  as  the  power  of  the  machine  is  at  the 
time  competent  to  produce.  .  .  . 

If  the  impression  of  the  learned  professor,  were  correct, 
how  could  a  battery  or  a  jar  be  charged,  where  both  it,  and 
the  machine  are  insulated  from  the  earth?  Yet  experience 
shows  that  it  is  under  these  circumstances  that  a  charge  is 
most  easily  imparted.  When  the  conductors  are  in  a  state 
of  excitement,  and  both  insulated,  the  one  will  of  course  be 
as  much  below  that  of  the  surrounding  neutral  medium,  and 
of  the  great  reservoir,  as  the  other  is  above  that  standard. 
When  we  connect  either  conductor  with  the  earth,  it  returns 
of  course  to  the  neutral  state  of  the  earth ;  but  the  difference 
between  the  excitement  of  the  conductors  is  sustained  by 
the  power  of  the  machine  to  the  same  extent  as  before ;  hence 
the  length  and  frequency  of  the  sparks  will  not  be  found  to  be 
sensibly  altered.  It  follows  that  when  either  of  the  conduc- 
tors is  made  neutral  by  connexion  with  the  earth,  the  other 
will  have  its  excitement  as  much  above  or  below  neutrality, 
as  the  sum  of  the  differences  between  each  of  the  two  conduc- 
tors and  the  terrestrial  neutrality  when  both  are  insulated. 
Thus  supposing  that  when  insulated,  the  one  conductor  is 
relatively  to  terrestial  electricity  minus  ten,  and  that  the  posi- 
tive conductor  is  plus  ten;  when  the  negative  conductor  alone 
is  uninsulated,  the  positive  will  be  plus  twenty,  when  the 
latter  is  alone  uninsulated  the  former  will  be  minus  twenty. 

It  seems  to  be  a  common,  though  as  I  believe  an  erroneous 
idea,  that  a  spark  changes  its  character  with  the  conductor 
from  which  it  appears  to  be  taken;  so  that  when  produced 
by  presenting  a  body  to  the  positive  conductor,  it  is  considered 
as  positive,  and  as  negative  when  produced  with  the  negative 
conductor  in  like  manner." 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  171 

It  is  a  pity  that  the  entire  correspondence  between  Hare 
and  Silliman  cannot  be  found,  for  there  are  interesting  little 
items  communicated  from  time  to  time.  Thus  he  wrote : 

"  I  have  a  magnet  made  essentially  after  the  plan  of 
Prof.  Henry,  excepting  the  use  of  paper  and  shell  lac,  in 
lieu  of  silk  as  an  insulator,  which  method  I  devised  and  men- 
tioned to  you  more  than  two  years  ago. 

This  magnet  weighs  seventeen  pounds.  It  is  surrounded 
by  fourteen  coils  of  copper  wire,  No.  15,  each  sixty  feet  in 
length.  Its  maximum  of  cohesive  power  is  equal  to  seven 
hundred  and  eighty  pounds. 

I  was  curious  to  see  if  there  would  be  any  reaction  be- 
tween this  magnet  and  the  jet  of  igneous  matter  between 
the  poles  of  a  deflagrator,  of  seven  hundred  pairs  of  plates  of 
four  inches  by  three.  The  only  remarkable  result  was,  that 
the  conducting  power  of  the  iron  of  the  magnet  was  much  re- 
duced when  subjected  to  the  inductive  influence  of  the  coils. 

This  was  demonstrated  by  attaching  one  pole  of  the  series 
of  seven  hundred  pairs  to  one  leg  of  the  magnet,  while  the 
other  pole  was  made  first  to  touch  the  end  of  the  other  leg, 
and  then  retracted  so  as  to  produce  the  vivid  discharge  of  igne- 
ous matter,  well  known  to  ensue  under  such  circumstances. 
The  discharge  being  thus  established,  it  was  arrested  as  soon 
as  a  calorimotor  was  made  to  act  upon  the  coils.  The  experi- 
ment was  reiterated  again,  and  again,  with  the  same  result. 

About  two  years  ago,  I  stated  that  taking  the  iron  of  an 
electro  magnet  into  the  circuit  of  a  Calorimotor  fifty  times 
larger  than  that  used  for  the  coils,  the  attractive  power, 
though  enfeebled,  was  not  destroyed.  I  have  lately  ascer- 
tained that  a  knitting  needle  may  be  magnetized  and  have 
its  poles  reversed  while  subjected  to  a  direct  current  from 
the  same  large  instrument,  the  inductive  magnetic  power 
being  meanwhile  due  to  a  Calorimotor  of  not  more  than  a 
fiftieth  of  the  size." 


172  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

It  is  impossible  for  any  one  who  follows  the  life  work 
of  Robert  Hare  not  to  wonder  about  his  surroundings  while 
executing  his  great  experimental  problems.  It  will  be  re- 
called that  in  his  early  years  the  laboratory  facilities  (p.  12) , 
were  not  very  elaborate.  At  no  time  is  there  any  indication 
from  him  or  from  others  on  the  subject  of  laboratory  appoint- 
ments, so  that  when  in  1831  he  published  an  account  of  his 
laboratory  and  lecture  room,  illustrated  by  a  plate  drawing,2 
he  conferred  a  real  favor  upon  his  colleagues  not  only  of  that 
period,  but  upon  those  who  followed  in  the  succeeding  decades. 

It  is  always  a  source  of  pleasure  and  delight  to  be  ac- 
quainted, even  slightly,  with  the  side  lights  in  the  career  of 
persons  who  have,  in  any  wise,  contributed  to  the  advance- 
ment of  the  borders  of  human  knowledge.  The  writer  re- 
calls with  pleasure,  as  many  another  perhaps  does,  the  thrill 
which  came  upon  him  while  silently  inspecting  that  chamber 
of  the  Deutsches  Museum  in  Munich  in  which  are  assembled 
the  various  forms  of  apparatus  showing  the  development  of 
chemistry  in  Germany.  To  gaze  upon  an  original  Liebig 
condenser,  or  a  combustion  oven,  carried  him  back  to  the  days 
when  the  splendid  foundations  of  the  present  organic  chem- 
istry were  being  quietly  laid  in  the  little  German  town  on 
the  Lahn.  There  rushed  in  upon  his  mind  the  magnificent 
problems  which  were  there  solved.  In  short,  the  objects 
collected  in  the  Museum  became  a  mighty  inspiration.  So 
too  must  the  lecture  hall  and  laboratory  of  Hare  have  been 
to  all  who  were  permitted  to  know  them,  for  "  no  man  in 
this  country  ever  labored  so  much  and  so  successfully  for 
the  improvement  of  practical  chemistry  as  Hare." 

The  description  of  his  "  working  place  "  reads  almost  like 
the  account  of  Berzelius'  laboratory  as  set  forth  in  the  inimi- 
table word-picture  drawn  by  the  illustrious  Wohler.  It  reads : 

2  See  "  American  Jr.  Science  "  (1st  series),  19,  26:  his  Compen-> 
dium  (4»th  ed.),  1840;  "Chemistry  in  America,"  D.  Appleton  and 
Company. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  173 

"  The  hearth,  behind  the  table,  is  thirty  six  feet  wide,  and 
twenty  feet  deep.  On  the  left,  which  is  to  the  south,  is  a 
scullery  supplied  with  river  water  by  a  communication  with 
the  pipes  proceeding  from  the  public  water  works,  and 
furnished  with  a  sink  and  a  boiler.  Over  the  scullery  is  a  small 
room  of  about  twelve  feet  square,  used  as  a  study.  In  front 
of  the  scullery  and  study  are  glass  cases  for  apparatus.  On 
the  right  of  the  hearth  two  other  similar  cases,  one  above 
the  other,  may  be  observed.  Behind  the  lower  one  of  these  is 
the  forge  room,  about  twelve  feet  square;  and  north  of  the 
forge  room,  are  two  fire  proof  rooms  communicating  with 
each  other,  eleven  feet  square  each;  the  one  for  a  lathe,  the 
other  for  a  carpenter's  bench,  and  a  vice  bench.  The  two 
last  mentioned  rooms,  are  surmounted  by  groined  arches,  in 
order  to  render  them  secure  against  fire;  and  the  whole  suite 
of  rooms  which  I  have  described,  together  with  the  hearth, 
are  supported  by  seven  arches  of  masonry,  about  twelve  feet 
each  in  span.  Over  the  forge  room  is  a  store  room,  and 
over  the  lathe  and  bench  rooms,  is  one  room  of  about  twenty 
by  twelve  feet.  In  this  room  there  is  a  fine  lathe,  and  tools. 

The  space  partially  visible  to  the  right,  is  divided  by  a 
floor  into  two  apartments,  lighted  by  four  windows.  The 
lower  one  is  employed  to  hold  galvanic  apparatus,  the  upper 
one  for  shelves,  and  tables,  for  apparatus,  and  agents,  not 
in  daily  use.  In  front  of  the  floor  just  alluded  to,  is  a 
gallery  for  visitors. 

The  canopy  over  the  hearth  is  nearly  covered  with  shelves 
for  apparatus,  which  will  bear  exposure  to  air  and  dust, 
especially  glass.  In  the  center  of  the  hearth  there  is  a  stack 
of  brick  work  for  a  blast  furnace,  the  blast  being  produced 
by  means  of  a  very  large  bellows  situated  under  one  of  the 
arches  supporting  the  hearth.  The  bellows  are  wrought  by 
means  of  the  lever  represented  in  the  engraving,  and  a  rod 
descending  from  it  through  a  circular  opening  in  the  masonry. 


174  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

There  are  two  other  stacks  of  brick  work  on  the  hearth 
against  the  wall.  In  one  there  is  a  coal  grate  which  heats 
a  flat  sand  bath,  in  the  other  there  is  a  similar  grate  for  heat- 
ing two  circular  sand  baths,  or  an  alembic.  In  this  stack 
there  is  likewise  a  powerful  air  furnace.  In  both  of  the 
stacks  last  mentioned,  there  are  evaporating  ovens. 

The  laboratory  is  heated  not  only  by  one  or  both  of  the 
grates  already  mentioned,  but  also  by  stoves  in  the  arches 
beneath  the  hearth,  one  of  these  is  included  in  a  chamber  of 
brick  work.  The  chamber  receives  a  supply  of  fresh  air 
through  a  flue  terminating  in  an  aperture  in  the  external 
wall  of  the  building,  and  the  air  after  being  heated  passes 
into  the  laboratory  at  fifteen  apertures,  distributed  over  a 
space  of  thirty  feet.  Twelve  of  these  apertures  are  in  front 
of  the  table,  being  four  inches  square,  covered  by  punched 
sheet  iron.  In  the  hearth  there  is  one  large  aperture  of  about 
twelve  by  eighteen,  covered  by  a  cast  iron  plate  full  of  holes, 
the  rest  are  under  the  table.  By  these  means  the  hot  air 
is,  at  its  entrance,  so  much  diluted  with  the  air  of  the  room, 
that  an  unusually  equable  temperature  is  produced,  there 
being  rarely  more  than  two  degrees  of  Fahrenheit  difference 
between  the  temperature  in  the  upper  and  in  the  lower  part 
of  the  lecture  room.  There  are  some  smaller  windows  to 
the  south,  besides  those  represented  in  the  engraving.  One 
of  these  is  in  the  upper  story,  from  which  the  rays  enter  at 
the  square  aperture  in  the  ceiling  over  the  table  on  the  right. 
Besides  these,  are  the  windows  represented  in  the  engraving 
back  of  the  hearth,  and  four  others  in  the  apartments  to  the 
north  of  the  gallery.  All  the  windows  have  shutters,  so 
constructed  as  to  be  closed  and  opened  with  facility.  Those 
which  belong  to  the  principal  windows  are  hung  like  sashes 
with  weights,  so  that  they  ascend  as  soon  as  loosened,  and 
when  the  light  is  again  to  be  admitted,  are  easily  pulled  down 
by  cords  and  fastened.  In  addition  to  the  accommodation 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  175 

already  mentioned,  there  is  a  large  irregular  room  under  the 
floor  of  the  lecture  room  on  the  eastern  side.  This  is  used  as 
a  place  to  stow  a  number  of  cumbrous  and  unsightly  articles 
which  are,  nevertheless,  of  a  nature  to  be  very  useful  at  times. 
Also  for  such  purposes,  and  for  containing  fuel,  there  is  a 
spacious  cellar  under  the  lecture  room  and  laboratory." 

Would  it  be  too  much  for  the  reader  to  imagine  that  he 
and  the  writer,  some  time  before  1847,  concluded  to  visit  this 
"  old  workshop  "  and  with  their  own  eyes  behold  the  evi- 
dences of  Hare's  manual  dexterity?  Entering  the  lecture 
room  and  turning  to  the  cases  on  the  right  the  first  stop 
would  be  at  the  electrometer  with  a  single  leaf,  by  which  the 
electricity  excited  by  the  touch  of  heterogeneous  metals  is 
made  very  evident  after  a  single  contact  (1824) . 

Nearby  is  the  improved  blowpipe  using  alcohol.  In  it 
"  the  inflammation  is  sustained  by  opposing  jets  of  vapour, 
without  a  lamp."  It  will  be  recalled  that  as  early  as  1819 
it  occurred  to  Hare  to  make  the  flame  of  hydrogen  gas  or 
alcoholic  vapour,  more  luminous  by  an  admixture  of  oil  of 
turpentine. 

And  there  on  the  gallery,  just  over  the  lecture  table,  is 
the  electrical  plate  machine  designed  by  Hare.  Its  plate  is 
four  feet  in  diameter.  He  considered  its  mounting  prefer- 
able to  any  with  which  he  was  acquainted.  It  was  in  con- 
nection with  this  machine  that  he  discoursed  on  the  causes 
of  the  diversity  in  the  length  of  the  sparks.  He  said  that 
Thompson  stated  in  his  valuable  work  on  heat  and  electricity 
that  if  a  long  spark  be  taken  between  two  knobs,  as  when 
severally  attached  to  the  positive  and  negative  conductors 
of  the  electrical  machine;  the  portion  of  the  spark  near  the 
positive  knob  exhibits  all  the  characters  of  positive  electricity, 
while  the  remaining  portion  proceeding  from  the  other  knob 
displays  all  the  characters  of  negative  electricity. 

"Although  the  learned  and  ingenious  author  does  not 


176  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

state  what  differences  there  are  between  the  different  por- 
tions of  the  spark,  and  wherefore,  if  any  exist ;  he  can,  with- 
out a  petitio  principii,  assume  that  they  are  such  as  to  justify 
his  conclusion.  He  proceeds  to  allege  that  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  every  spark  consists  of  two  electricities;  which, 
issuing  severally  from  their  respective  knobs,  terminate  their 
career  by  uniting  at  the  non-luminous  portion  of  the  spark, 
which  is  at  a  distance  from  the  negative  knob,  of  about  one- 
third  of  the  interval.  Upon  these  grounds  he  infers  that 
the  positive  electricity  occupies  two-thirds  of  the  length  of 
the  spark,  the  negative  one-third. 

I  presume  that,  agreeably  to  the  theory  which  supposes 
the  existence  of  two  fluids,  when  the  equilibrium  between 
oppositely  excited  surfaces  is  restored  by  a  discharge,  whether 
in  the  form  of  a  spark  or  otherwise,  there  must  be  two  jets 
or  currents  passing  each  other;  the  one  conveying  as  much 
of  the  resinous  as  the  other  does  of  the  vitreous  electricity. 
Of  course  no  part  of  a  spark  can  be  more  negative  than  it  is 
positive,  nor  more  positive  than  it  is  negative.  Upon  this 
ground,  a  suggestion  of  the  same  author,  that  the  diminution 
of  light  near  the  middle  of  the  spark  results  from  the  com- 
bination of  the  different  fluids  at  this  point,  appears  to  me 
injudicious,  since  there  is  as  little  ground  for  supposing  the 
union  of  the  fluids  to  take  place  there  as  elsewhere.  But 
admitting  that  the  union  does  take  place  as  supposed,  is 
this  a  reason  for  the  observed  diminution  of  light?  If,  when 
isolated,  either  fluid  is  capable  of  emitting  a  brilliant  light, 
should  not  their  co-operation  increase  the  effect?  If,  after 
their  union,  they  do  not  shine,  it  can  only  be  in  consequence 
of  their  abandoning,  at  that  moment,  all  the  light  with  which 
they  were  previously  associated.  It  cannot  be  imagined  that 
the  light  accompanying  one  should  neutralize  that  accom- 
panying the  other. 

In  deflagrating,  by  voltaic  electricity,  a  wire  of  uniform 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  177 

thickness,  equally  refrigerated,  the  most  intense  evolution 
of  heat  and  light  is  always  midway. 

In  truth,  the  theory  which  the  learned  author  sanctions, 
requires  two  postulates  so  irreconcilable,  that  unless  one  be 
kept  out  of  view,  the  other  cannot  be  sustained.  It  requires 
that  the  fluids  should  exercise  an  intense  reciprocal  attraction 
adequate  to  produce  chemical  affinity,  and  of  course,  enter 
into  combination  when  they  meet,  and  yet  rush  by  each  other 
with  inconceivable  velocity,  not  only  through  the  air,  but  also 
through  the  restricted  channel  afforded  by  a  small  wire.  If 
the  fluids  combine  at  a  point  intervening  between  the  sur- 
faces from  which  they  proceed,  what  becomes  of  the  com- 
pound which  they  form?  Is  it  credible  that  such  a  compound 
would  afford  no  indication  of  its  existence?  But,  again,  how 
are  two  surfaces,  the  one  previously  deprived  of  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  negative  electricity  naturally  due  to  it,  the  other 
made  as  deficient  of  the  positive  fluid,  to  regain  their  natural 
state?  By  a  combination  midway,  the  resinous  and  vitreous 
surcharges  might  be  disposed  of,  but  whence  could  the  vitreous 
and  resinous  deficiencies  be  supplied? 

Dr.  Thompson,  in  common  with  the  great  majority  of 
modern  chemists,  ascribes  chemical  affinity  to  the  attraction 
between  the  two  electricities  combined  with  ponderable  par- 
ticles. As  the  combinations  between  such  particles  take 
place  only  in  definite  proportions,  would  it  not  be  consistent 
that  the  fluids  which  give  rise  to  them,  should  combine  agree- 
ably to  those  laws?  But  if  the  electrical  compound,  formed 
of  the  vitreous  and  resinous  electricities,  be  decomposable  by 
induction,  as  the  theory  in  question  requires,  its  constituents 
must  be  capable  of  uniting  in  every  proportion. 

Agreeably  to  the  late  investigations  of  the  celebrated 

Faraday,  equal  quantities  of  the  electric  fluid  are  evolved  by 

analogous  chemical  changes,  in  equivalent  weights  of  different 

ponderable  bodies.    It  may  therefore  be  inferred,  that  in  en- 

12 


178  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

tering  into  combination  the  electric  fluid  is  obedient  to  those 

laws  of  definite  porportion  which  regulate  other  substances." 

In  this  connection  hear  Hare's  views  on  lightning  rods : 

"  In  some  of  our  American  newspapers,  a  letter  has  been 
republished  from  the  London  Times,  calculated,  to  lessen 
the  confidence  of  the  public  in  metallic  conductors,  as  a  mean 
of  protection  against  lightning.  The  author  of  the  letter  ap- 
pears to  suppose,  that  metals  are  peculiarly  attractive  of 
electricity;  and  infers  that,  when  a  metallic  rod  is  attached 
to  a  house,  or  ship,  a  discharge  of  electric  fluid  may  be  induced 
from  a  cloud,  which,  otherwise,  would  not  have  been  suffi- 
ciently near  to  endanger  the  premises.  Nothing  in  my 
opinion  can  be  more  erroneous  than  this  notion.  .  .  . 

Nothing,  to  me,  appears  more  unfounded  than  an  idea, 
lately  suggested,  that  the  attraction  between  a  ship,  and  a 
thunder  cloud,  can  be  increased,  by  the  presence  of  a  pointed 
metallic  rod,  surmounting  the  main-mast. 

If  houses,  or  vessels,  have  been  struck  with  lightning, 
while  provided  with  conductors,  it  is  owing  to  the  conductors 
being  improperly  constructed;  or  having  no  adequate  con- 
nexion with  the  earth.  ...  I  object  to  chains,  or  rods 
jointed  by  loops,  or  hooks  and  eyes.  The  error  of  supposing 
that  a  metallic  rod,  must  be  more  capable  of  attracting  elec- 
tricity injuriously,  because  of  its  known  wonderful  power  in 
transmitting  it,  will  be  evident,  when  it  is  understood  that  the 
only  difference  between  metals  and  other  bodies,  arises  from 
the  superior  power  of  transmission.  Hence,  when  by  a  defect- 
ive communication  with  the  earth  or  sea,  the  efficacy  of  the 
metal,  as  a  conductor,  is  diminished,  or  destroyed,  its  influence 
over  a  charged  cloud  is  proportionably  lessened.  It  follows, 
therefore,  that  so  far  as  it  acts,  its  action  must  be  beneficial, 
unless  its  lower  termination  should,  by  an  inconceivable  degree 
of  ignorance  or  inattention,  be  so  situated,  as  to  render  it  more 
easy  for  the  electrical  fluid  to  leave  the  rod,  and  pass  through 


2.  O 


B 

1     £v 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  179 

a  portion  of  the  house  or  vessel,  than  to  proceed,  by  means  of 
the  rod,  into  the  earth  or  sea. 

Thus  Richman  was  killed  by  a  conductor  which  he  em- 
ployed to  receive  electricity  from  the  clouds,  and  to  convey 
it  to  an  electrometer,  necessarily  insulated:  under  these  cir- 
cumstances, the  head  of  the  professor  being  about  a  foot  from 
the  conductor,  he  became  a  part  of  the  channel  of  communica- 
tion with  the  earth.  Had  the  apparatus  been  surrounded  by 
a  cage  of  wire,  and  this  duly  connected  with  a  metallic  rod 
soldered  to  a  sheet  of  metal  buried  in  the  earth,  Richman 
might  have  made  his  observations  with  perfect  safety. 

I  must  premise,  that  the  apparatus,  by  means  of  which 
the  phenomena  alluded  to  were  produced,  consisted  of  a  wire 
a  mile  long,  supported  and  insulated,  upon  very  high  poles." 

And  note  those  columns  in  the  room.  It  will  be  recalled 
that  Hare  encircled  them  with  seven  hundred  feet  of  copper 
wire — about  the  thickness  of  a  knitting  needle. 

"At  one  end  the  wire  was  connected  with  one  of  his 
large  calorimotors,  while  the  other  terminated  in  a  cup  of 
mercury,  into  which  there  dipped  a  wire  from  the  other  pole 
of  the  calorimotor.  On  bringing  a  magnetic  needle  near  the 
middle  of  the  circuit,  it  was  powerfully  affected  and  when 
the  circuit  was  first  interrupted,  and  then  re-established  by  re- 
moving the  wire  from  the  cup,  and  introducing  it  again,  the  in- 
fluence appeared  to  reach  the  needle  so  quickly  as  if  the  circuit 
had  not  exceeded  seven  inches  in  the  meridian,  while  the  circuit 
was  interrupted,  and  the  end  of  the  wire  being  then  returned 
into  the  mercury,  the  deviation  of  the  needle,  and  the  contact 
of  the  wire  with  the  metal,  appeared  perfectly  simultaneous. 

A  wire  was  made  to  circulate  with  great  rapidity  by 
means  of  two  wheels  about  which  it  passed  like  a  band.  The 
wheels  being  metallic,  and  severally  connected  with  the  dif- 
ferent poles  of  a  calorimotor,  it  was  found  that  the  motion 


180  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

neither  accelerated  nor  retarded  the  galvanic  influence — and 
it  made  no  difference  whether  the  needle  was  placed  near  the 
portion  of  the  wire  which  moved  from  the  positive  pole  to  the 
negative,  or  the  portion  which  moved  in  the  opposite  direction. 

If  a  jet  of  mercury,  in  communication  with  one  pole  of  a 
very  large  calorimotor,  is  made  to  fall  on  the  poles  of  a  horse- 
shoe magnet  communicating  with  the  other,  the  metallic 
stream  will  be  curved  outwards  or  inwards,  accordingly  as 
one  or  the  other  side  of  the  magnet  may  be  exposed  to  the 
jet — or  as  the  pole  communicating  with  the  mercury  may  be 
positive  or  negative.  When  the  jet  of  mercury  is  made  to 
fall  just  within  the  interstice  formed  by  a  series  of  horse- 
shoe magnets,  mounted  together  in  the  usual  way,  the  stream 
will  be  bent  in  the  direction  of  the  interstice,  and  inwards 
or  outwards,  accordingly  as  the  sides  of  the  magnet,  or  the 
communication  with  the  galvanic  poles,  may  be  exchanged. 
This  result  is  analogous  to  those  obtained  by  Messrs.  Barlow 
and  Marsh,  with  wires,  or  wheels. 

It  is  well  known  that  a  galvanic  pair,  which  will,  on  im- 
mersion in  an  acid,  intensely  ignite  a  wire,  connecting  the 
zinc  and  copper  surfaces,  will  cease  to  do  so  after  the  acid 
has  acted  on  the  pair  for  some  moments, — and  that  ignition 
cannot  be  reproduced  by  the  same  apparatus,  without  a  tem- 
porary removal  from  the  exciting  fluid. 

I  have  ascertained  that  this  recovery  of  igniting  power 
does  not  take  place — if,  during  the  removal  from  the  acid, 
the  galvanic  surfaces  be  surrounded  either  by  hydrogen  gas, 
nitric  oxide  gas,  or  carbonic  acid  gas.  When  surrounded  by 
chlorine,  or  by  oxygen  gas,  the  surfaces  regain  their  igniting 
power,  in  nearly  the  same  time  as  when  exposed  to  the  air. 

The  magnetic  needle  is,  nevertheless,  much  more  power- 
fully affected  by  the  galvanic  circuit,  when  the  plates  have 
been  allowed  repose,  whether  it  take  place  in  the  air  or  in 
any  of  the  gases  above  mentioned. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  181 

I  have  not  yet  had  time,  agreeably  to  my  intention,  to 
examine  the  effect  of  other  gases,  or  of  a  vacuum." 

And,  it  is  pretty  certain  that,  when  discussing  (1824) 
the  question  with  his  students  as  to  the  existence  of  two  elec- 
trical fluids  (DuFaye)  or  one  (Franklin)  he  adduced  before 
them  numerous  facts  and  arguments  "  in  opposition  to  the 
doctrine  of  two  fluids." 

There,  to  the  left,  is  one  of  those  celebrated  deflagrators, 
and  we  can  almost  hear  Hare  say,  as  we  rest  our  eyes  on  this 
instrument : 

"  De  Butts  availed  himself  of  that  alternation  of  sur- 
faces, that  omission  of  insulation,  which  I  first  used  in  my 
calorimotor  .  .  .  indeed,  he  employs  the  same  principle 
of  simultaneous  immersion  originally  used  in  my  deflagrator! 
How  can  he  claim  anything  novel? 

"  How  can  he  speak  of  the  coils  as  if  that  form  of  the 
galvanic  battery  had  originated  with  Off erhaus  and  Pepys — 
whereas  this  was  one  of  the  forms  first  contemplated  by  me?  " 

Turning  again,  to  the  case  on  the  right,  are  several 
volumeters — instruments  by  which  to  take  volumes  of  gas, 
at  one  time,  precisely  equal  to  those  taken  at  another  time. 

"  There  are  two  kinds  of  volumeters;  one  calculated  to  be 
introduced  into  a  bell  glass,  over  water  or  mercury ;  the  other 
may  be  fitted  through  an  orifice  as  is  usual  in  the  case  of 
filling  a  common  bottle  over  the  pneumatic  cistern." 

Observe  the  gasometer  at  the  end  of  the  table.  See  how 
it  is  suspended  from  a  beam?  Well,  Hare  devised  that  as 
a  substitute  for  the  English  Gasometer  chain,  more  difficult 
to  execute.  And  next  to  that  is  the  sliding  rod  gas  measure 
differing  from  the  sliding  rod  eudiometers,  in  having  a  valve 
which  is  opened  and  shut  by  a  spring  and  lever,  acting  upon 
a  rod  passing  through  a  collar  of  leathers.  By  means  of  this 


182  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

valve,  any  gas,  drawn  into  the  receiver,  is  included  so  as  to 
be  free  from  the  possibility  of  loss,  during  its  transfer  from 
one  vessel  to  another. 

Immediately  above  on  a  shelf  is  what  Hare  termed  a 
Barometer  Gage  'Eudiometer.  It  is  well  known  .  .  . 
that  if  a  receiver  communicate  simultaneously  with  an  air 
pump,  and  a  barometer  gage,  the  extent  of  the  exhaustion 
will  be  indicated  by  the  heighth  of  the  mercury  in  the  gage 
tube ;  so  that  if  there  be  a  scale  of  equal  parts  associated  with 
the  tube,  the  quantity  of  air  taken  from  the  receiver  at  any 
stage  of  the  exhaustion,  will  be  to  the  quantity  held  by  it 
when  full,  as  the  number  opposite  the  mercurial  column, 
when  the  observation  is  made,  to  that  to  which  it  would  rise, 
if  the  receiver  were  thoroughly  exhausted.  Hence,  having 
exhausted  the  vessel,  thoroughly,  if  the  mercury  stand  at  450 
degrees,  by  the  gage,  on  allowing  any  gaseous  fluid  to  enter 
till  it  sinks  to  150  degrees,  the  quantity  in  the  receiver  will 
be  300  parts ;  and  if  of  this,  by  explosion,  or  any  other  means, 
any  number  of  parts  be  condensed,  the  mercury  in  the  gage 
must  rise  that  number  of  degrees. 

Did  you  mark  the  smaller  instrument  by  the  side  of  the 
eudiometer?  Hare  designated  it  the  subsidiary  eudiometer 
to  be  used  when  the  quantity  of  the  gas  was  too  small  to  be 
measured  into  the  bell  glass  by  a  volumeter. 

Directly  above  it  is  the  carbonicometer — an  apparatus,  by 
which  to  withdraw  a  known  portion  of  residual  air  from  the 
barometer  gage  eudiometer  in  order  to  wash  it  with  lime  water. 

"  By  agitating  the  globe,  the  carbonic  acid  will  combine 
with  the  lime  in  the  water.  This  effected,  the  residual  gas 
may  be  allowed  to  re-enter  the  eudiometer,  where  the  quan- 
tity of  it  may  be  measured,  and  consequently  the  extent  of 
the  absorption  known." 

That  large  and  elaborate  piece  of  apparatus  on  the  left 
side,  near  the  left  end  of  the  table,  is  the  volumescope.  It 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  183 

is  striking  in  its  appearance.  It  served  a  splendid  purpose. 
It  shows  how  intensely  earnest  Hare  was  to  instil  funda- 
mental principles.  With  that  contrivance  he  illustrated  the 
fundamental  basis  of  the  theory  of  volumes.  And  among 
other  uses  he  demonstrated  with  it  "  the  ratio  in  which  nitric 
oxide  and  the  oxygen  of  atmospheric  air  are  condensed  by 
admixture."  It  was  also  applied  in  the  analysis  of  carbonic 
oxide  so  as  "  to  show  that  the  result  confirms  the  theory  of 
volumes  " ;  in  the  analysis  of  olefiant  gas,  and  in  the  analysis 
of  a  mixture  of  carbonic  oxide  with  one  or  more  of  the  gaseous 
components  of  carbon  with  hydrogen,  as  well  as  in  the  analy- 
sis of  a  mixture  of  ethylene — carbon  monoxide  and  either 
hydrogen  or  nitrogen  or  both  of  the  latter.  What  a  splendid 
gas  analyst  Hare  was!  He  had  considerable  to  say  in  his 
experimental  writings  of  the  use  of  nitric  oxide  in  eudiometry. 
He  also  referred  frequently  to  nitrous  oxide  and  emphasized 
its  preparation  from  ammonium  nitrate. 

Do  not  overlook  those  two  massive  pieces  of  apparatus 
with  gas  bags  attached  to  their  sides.  They  were  intended 
to  illustrate  the  combustion  of  "  pulverized  metals  "  and 
"  metallic  leaves  "  in  chlorine ;  also  for  the  abstraction  of 
oxygen  from  the  atmospheric  air,  "  leaving  the  nitrogen  so 
situated  as  to  be  easily  drawn  from  the  containing  vessel." 

The  two  "  vases,"  on  the  top  shelf,  tightened  by  screws, 
were  substitutes  for  Woulfe's  bottles. 

And,  yonder,  phials,  and  other  glass  vessels  were  used  to 
illustrate  the  influence  of  compression  on  the  capacity  of 
"  air  for  caloric  and  moisture."  Hare  declared  that  "  the 
tendency  in  the  atmosphere  to  cloudiness,  at  certain  eleva- 
tions, may  be  ascribed  to  the  rarefaction  which  air  invariably 
undergoes,  in  circulating  from  the  earth's  surface  to  such 
heights." 

The  other  pieces  of  apparatus  on  the  adjoining  shelf  were 
employed  to  illustrate  the  capacities  for  heat. 


184  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

Now  let  us  examine  some  of  the  cases  in  the  balcony.  The 
first  thing  to  arrest  attention  is  the  Litrameter  (litra,  weight, 
and  meter,  measure) .  Hare  contrived  it  to  determine  specific 
gravity.  Its  efficiency  is  due  to  the  principle  "  that  when 
columns  of  different  liquids  are  elevated  by  the  same  pressure, 
their  weights  must  be  inversely  as  their  gravities." 

And  those  bladders,  lying  there,  were  used  in  this  way: 
Knowing  that  the  principal  difficulty  in  weighing  gases  ac- 
curately is  due  to  the  small  proportion  which  the  weight  of 
any  gas  can  have,  to  that  of  any  receiver,  capable  of  sus- 
taining the  unbalanced  atmospheric  pressure,  consequent  to 
exhaustion  Hare  was  led  to  another  plan  of  manipulation. 
"  The  weight  of  a  bladder  is  exactly  the  same,  however  large 
or  small  the  quantity  of  atmospheric  air,  which  it  may  include, 
provided  the  air  which  may  be  within  it,  be  under  no  greater 
compression,  than  that  without.  Hence,  if  by  means  of  a 
volumeter,  we  introduce  a  known  quantity  of  any  other  gas, 
one  hundred  cubic  inches  for  instance,  whatever  the  bladder 
gains  or  loses  in  weight,  will  be  the  difference  between  the 
weight  of  the  gas  introduced,  and  that  of  a  like  volume  of 
air.  If  the  gas  be  lighter,  we  must  deduct  the  weight  neces- 
sary to  restore  the  equilibrium  from  30.5  grains.  .  .  V 

The  comparative  gravities  of  gases  may  be  found  by 
means  of  two  bodies,  counterpoised  . ,  .  .  by  ascertaining 
the  rarefaction  or  condensation  of  each  gas,  which  would  make 
the  bodies  equiponderate  in  it,  as  if  it  were  atmospheric  air." 

Directly  in  the  center  of  the  long  lecture  table  is  the 
hydro-pneumatic  cistern  constructed  on  the  principle  of  one 
contrived  by  Silliman  and  himself  as  early  as  1803. 

On  examining  it  carefully  its  remarkable  adaptability  for 
pneumatic  work  becomes  surprisingly  evident.  It  indeed 
must  have  been  a  source  of  pleasure  and  comfort  to  the  great 
experimenter. 

Do  you  notice  those  coils  of  copper  lying  at  the  bottom 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  185 

of  the  case?    They  seem  to  be  almost  endless.     Their  story, 
or  at  least  the  story  of  some  of  them,  is  briefly  this: 

Hare  prepared  a  coil  of  copper  wire,  No.  26,  nearly  a 
mile  in  length,  by  means  of  which,  and  a  strap  of  copper,  three 
inches  in  width,  and  196  feet  in  length,  he  had  been  enabled 
to  repeat  the  experiment  of  Joseph  Henry,  for  exciting  a 
Faradian  current.  The  wire  was  covered  with  cotton,  and 
was  coiled  upon  a  wooden  sieve  hoop.  Being  suspended  over 
a  pulley,  and  counterbalanced  by  a  weight  over  the  strap, 
when  this  was  placed  in  the  circuit  of  a  calorimotor,  so  that 
the  circuit  might  be  broken  by  drawing  one  of  the  electrodes 
over  a  rasp  or  ratchet  wheel,  communicating  with  the  coil, 
shocks  were  felt,  when  the  distance  of  several  feet  intervened, 
and  they  became  intolerable  when  the  coil  and  strap  were 
nearly  in  contact.  Having  this  coil  at  command,  it  occurred 
to  Dr.  Hare,  to  ascertain  how  far  it  would  be  competent  to 
act  as  a  multiplier.  It  seemed  to  be  a  problem  which  was  yet 
to  be  solved,  how  far  the  extension  of  the  length  of  the  coils 
employed  would  affect  their  efficacy.  He  had  not  heard  of 
any  one  in  which  resort  had  been  had  to  an  extension  so  great 
as  a  mile.  Actuated  by  these  considerations,  he  supported 
his  coil  in  a  vertical  plane,  and  placed  upon  the  lower  and 
under  surface  of  the  hoop,  the  magnetic  needle  of  an  ordinary 
multiplier.  A  five  cent  piece,  and  a  disk  of  zinc  of  the  same 
size,  being  separated  by  a  piece  of  moistened  paper,  when 
one  of  the  ends  was  made  to  touch  the  silver  disk  and  the 
other  the  zinc,  the  needle  moved  nearly  a  quadrant  at  every 
contact.  When  the  disk  was  divided  into  four  parts,  every 
one  of  them  was  adequate  to  produce  a  movement  in  the 
needle,  when  the  coil  was  made  the  medium  of  discharge. 
That  such  minute  portions  of  metal  should  be  capable  of 
creating  an  electrical  current  in  so  long  a  coil,  and  sufficiently 
copious  to  influence  a  magnetic  needle,  would  have  appeared 
incredible  to  him,  had  it  not  been  thus  proved  experimentally. 


186  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

That  extensive  voltaic  apparatus,  standing  there  half 
under  the  table,  is  a  galvanic  deflagrator.  In  construction 
it  is  exactly  like  the  one  he  made  for  the  Lowell  Institute  of 
Boston.  Somewhere  he  has  said  (in  the  American  Philoso- 
phical Society  Proceedings,  I  think) : 

"  It  consisted  of  four  troughs,  each  containing  100  pairs 
within  a  space  of  about  30  inches  in  length.  The  pairs,  sev- 
erally, are  of  the  Cruickshank  pattern,  and  about  6^/2  inches 
square,  independently  of  the  grooves,  so  as  to  expose  about 
42  inches  of  zinc  surface.  Every  fifth  plate  is  cemented 
into  its  groove  by  a  compound  of  rosin  and  suet.  The  plates, 
intermediate  between  those  thus  cemented  are  made  to  fit 
tightly  into  their  grooves;  but  in  consequence  of  a  slight 
obliquity  in  their  sides,  can  be  extricated  by  the  aid  of  forceps, 
so  as  to  be  cleansed,  and  when  expedient,  scraped.  The 
cementing  of  each  fifth  plate  tends  to  prevent  any  injurious 
retrocession  of  the  voltaic  fluid ;  and  yet  when  the  intermediate 
four  plates  are  removed,  an  interstice  is  vacated,  sufficiently 
large  to  allow  the  stationary  metallic  surfaces  to  be  reached 
by  a  scraper.  The  plates  are  all  amalgamated,  which  not 
only  renders  them  less  susceptible  of  wasteful  reaction  with 
acid,  but  more  susceptible  of  being  cleansed.  A  strip  of 
wood,  13  inches  wide  and  2  inches  deep,  is  bored  by  a  centre 
bit,  so  as  to  have  eight  vertical  and  cylindrical  holes,  which 
are  all  supplied  with  mercury.  By  means  of  ropes  of  copper 
wire,  these  holes  are  made  to  communicate  severally  with  the 
poles  of  each  of  the  troughs,  so  that  every  one  of  these  had 
its  corresponding  mercurial  receptacle.  Arches  of  twisted 
copper  wire  are  provided  of  such  various  lengths,  that  the 
receptacles  may  be  connected  in  such  manner  as  to  cause  the 
associated  troughs  to  act  either  as  one  series  of  400  pairs  each 
of  42  inches  of  zinc  surface;  as  a  series  of  200  pairs  each  of 
84  inches  of  zinc  surface;  or  as  a  series  of  100  pairs  each  of 
168  inches  of  zinc  surface.  In  the  usual  mode  of  constructing 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  187 

the  voltaic  apparatus,  the  diversities  of  power  that  appertain 
to  an  apparatus  in  which  the  ratio  of  the  size  of  the  pairs  to 
their  number  varies,  as  above  described,  can  only  be  produced 
by  changes  in  the  arrangement,  which  are  too  inconvenient 
to  be  employed;  but,  according  to  the  contrivance  described, 
are  attainable  simply  by  shifting  the  connecting  arches,  so  as 
to  alter  duly  the  mode  in  which  the  receptacles  are  connected 
with  each  other. 

By  means  of  this  apparatus,  the  deflagration  of  metals, 
the  arched  flame  between  charcoal  points,  the  fusion  of  platina 
by  contact  with  the  aqueous  solution  of  chloride  of  calcium, 
the  welding  of  iron  wire  to  a  rod  of  the  same  metal  under 
water,  were  all  accomplished  with  the  most  striking  success. 

In  repeating  Davy's  experiment,  in  which  the  arched 
flame  between  charcoal  points  was  subjected  by  the  influence 
of  a  permanent  magnet,  the  reaction  between  the  voltaic  and 
magnetic  fluids  was  so  violent,  as  to  be  productive  of  a  noise 
like  that  of  small  bubbles  of  hydrogen  inflamed  in  escaping 
from  the  generating  liquid.  This  last  mentioned  experiment 
was  performed  by  request  of  Prof.  Henry  who  manipulated 
in  the  performance  of  it. 

Hare  stated  that  he  had  for  many  years  endeavored  to 
draw  the  attention  of  men  of  science  to  the  fact,  that  if,  when 
a  fine  and  a  coarse  wire  of  platinum  are  made  to  form  the 
electrodes  or  poles  of  a  powerful  voltaic  series  of  not  less  than 
300  pairs,  the  coarse  wire,  while  forming  the  positive  end  or 
anode,  be  introduced  into  a  concentrated  solution  of  chloride 
of  calcium,  and  the  fine  wire  be  made  to  touch  the  surface  of 
the  solution,  fusion  of  the  extremity  into  a  globule  will  fol- 
low every  contact.  But  when  the  polarity  of  the  wires  is 
reversed,  the  resulting  ignition  is  comparatively  feeble. 

This  experiment,  Hare  stated,  was  repeated  to  the  satis- 
faction of  Professors  Silliman,  Henry  and  James  Rogers,  all 
of  whom  were  present  at  the  trial  of  the  apparatus. 


188  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

When  the  finer  wire  was  plunged  about  an  inch  below 
the  surface  of  the  solution,  it  became  luminous  throughout, 
emitting  rays  of  a  brilliant  purple  hue. 

For  the  fusion  of  platina  wire,  in  the  experiment  above 
described,  it  was  found  necessary  to  use  the  whole  series  con- 
secutively as  400  pairs;  showing,  Hare  remarked,  that  there 
are  effects  which  require  a  great  number  of  pairs.  He  had, 
in  previous  experiments,  found  that  fresh  phosphuret  of  cal- 
cium was  a  conductor  for  350  pairs  of  7  x  3,  but  not  for  100 
pairs  7%  x  14. 

The  deflagration  of  an  iron  wire  by  contact  with  mercury 
took  place  with  phenomena  which  were  never  before  witnessed 
by  any  of  the  spectators.  At  first  the  mercury  was  defla- 
grated with  an  intense  silvery  white  light,  after  which  there 
arose  a  vertical  shower  of  red  sparks,  caused  by  the  com- 
bustion of  the  iron.  Lastly,  a  globule  having  accumulated 
at  the  end  of  the  wire  after  a  momentary  stoppage  of  the 
reaction,  an  explosion  took  place,  by  which  fragments  of  the 
globule,  together  with  portions  of  the  mercury,  were  pro- 
jected to  a  great  distance. 

"  It  would  seem,"  said  Hare,  "  as  if  a  globule  of  peroxide 
of  iron,  having  formed  at  the  end  of  the  wire,  caused  a  tem- 
porary arrestation  of  the  voltaic  current;  but  that  the  ap- 
paratus, gaining  energy  in  consequence  of  a  transient  repose, 
was  unable  to  break  through  the  globule  so  as  to  disperse  its 
particles  with  violence." 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  in  1826  Hare  was  selected, 
together  with  Professors  Patterson  and  Keating,  "  to  make 
choice  of  an  hydrometer  to  be  used  in  ascertaining  the  amount 
of  the  duties  to  be  levied  on  spirits  imported  into  the  United 
States."  He  found  the  instruments  in  use  to  be  of  English 
make  or  modifications  of  them:  He  finally  decided  in  favor 
of  the  Dicus  hydrometer,  but  recommends  that  special  study 
should  be  made  of  this  subject  and  that  the  government  should 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  189 

authorize  the  committee  "  to  incur  a  reasonable  expense,  in 
the  requisite  investigations." 

At  the  same  time  he  informed  the  public  that  he  had  been 
examining  the  method  of  determining  gravities,  and  expected 
to  exhibit  something  altogether  new.  This  was  evidently 
the  prelude  to  a  communication  made  by  him  in  the  same  year 
(1826)  dealing  exhaustively  with  the  problem  in  an  experi- 
mental fashion,  and  consequently  there  at  the  very  top  of 
that  narrow  case  is  the  new  instrument  for  this  purpose — 
the  "  chyometer"  (chuo,  to  pour,  and  meter,  measure)  — 
which  is  his  sliding  rod  eudiometer  arranged  for  use  with 
liquids.  In  ascertaining  the  specific  gravity  of  a  solid  (a 
mineral)  the  process  differs  from  the  usual  procedure  only, 
"  in  using  measures  of  water,  instead  of  the  brass  weights, 
ordinarily  employed."  The  chyometer,  in  short,  makes  new 
weights  out  of  water  for  each  process.  With  its  aid  Hare 
demonstrated  how  the  specific  gravity  of  a  mineral  might  be 
learned  without  calculation,  and  without  degrees. 

Do  you  observe  on  the  bottom  of  the  case  those  two 
eudiometers?  They  are  the  sliding  rod  eudiometer,  the  one 
to  be  used  with  nitric  oxide,  or  with  liquids  absorbing  oxygen; 
the  other  with  explosive  mixtures.  In  the  contrivance  for  ex- 
ploding the  gases,  as  well  as  in  the  mode  for  measuring  them 
—the  wire  is  ignited  by  galvanism  instead  of  the  electric  spark. 

These  forms  he  modified  very  much.  For  one  thing  he 
soldered  the  igniting  wire  into  the  summits  of  two  brass 
wires  which  pass  through  the  bottom  of  the  socket  parallel 
to  the  axis  of  the  glass  recipient,  within  which  they  are  seen. 
For  a  while  Hare  puzzled  over  the  unsatisfactoriness  of  re- 
sults and  the  inconveniency  of  his  eudiometer  if  used  with 
mercury,  so  prepared  a  new  form,  provided  with  a  water 
gauge  which  enabled  the  analyst  to  render  the  gases  within 
in  equilibrio  with  the  air  without. 

The  cocks,  sockets,  screws  and  sliding-rods  of  the  mer- 
curial eudiometer  were  made  of  cast  steel. 


190  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

The  barometer  gauge  eudiometer  lying  by  the  side  of  the 
mercurial  eudiometer  is  a  much  improved  instrument  on  the 
original.  And  directly  above  these  last  objects  is  an  f(  im- 
proved cryophorus  " — which  consisted  of  two  flasks  of  which 
the  necks  had  flanged  orifices  and  so  secured  in  a  wooden 
frame  that  by  the  pressure  of  two  screws  and  gum-elastic 
disks  the  orifices  of  a  tube  were  made  to  form  with  them 
severally,  air  tight  junctures  ..."  midway  between 
the  latter  a  female  screw  was  soldered  to  the  tube  for  the 
insertion  of  a  valve  cock  by  means  of  which,  and  a  flexible 
tube  extending  to  an  air  pump,  the  flasks  could  be  exhausted 
and  then  closed."  "  The  intelligent  chemist  will  perceive  that 
this  apparatus  may  be  applied  to  the  purpose  of  desiccation 
by  placing  the  article  to  be  dried  in  one  receptacle,  and  quick 
lime,  calcium  chloride  or  concentrated  sulphuric  acid  in  the 
other."  How  like  our  very  modern  desiccators! 

We  must  pause  a  moment  at  the  next  piece  of  apparatus. 
Hare  termed  it  the  culinary  paradox.  It  is  to  show  ebullition 
by  means  of  cold. 

The  apparatus  consists  principally  of  a  glass  matrass, 
with  a  neck  of  about  three  feet  in  length,  tapering  to  an 
orifice  of  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  The  bulb 
is  bulged  inwards,  in  the  part  directly  opposite  the  neck, 
so  as  to  create  a  cavity  capable  of  holding  any  matter  which 
it  may  be  desirable  to  have  situated  therein.  In  addition  to 
the  matrass,  a  receptacle,  holding  a  few  pounds  of  mercury, 
is  requisite.  The  bulb  of  the  matrass  being  rather  less  than 
half  full  of  water,  and  this  being  heated  to  ebullition,  the 
orifice  should  be  closed  by  the  finger,  defended  by  a  piece  of 
gum-elastic,  and  depressed  below  the  surface  of  the  mercury. 
Under  these  circumstances,  the  mercury  rises  as  the  tem- 
perature of  the  water  declines,  indicating  the  consequent 
diminution  of  pressure  within  the  bulb.  Meanwhile,  the 
decline  of  pressure  lowering  the  boiling  point  of  the  water, 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  191 

the  ebullition  continues  till  the  mercury  rises  in  the  neck 
nearly  to  the  height  of  the  mercury  in  the  barometer. 

By  introducing  into  the  cup  formed  by  the  bulging  of 
the  bulb,  cold  water,  alcohol,  ether  or  ice,  the  refrigeration, 
the  diminution  of  pressure,  and  the  ebullition  are  all  simul- 
taneously accelerated,  since  these  results  are  reciprocally  de- 
pendent on  each  other. 

The  advantage  of  this  apparatus  and  method  of  operat- 
ing, lies  first  in  the  certainty  and  facility  with  which  the  ap- 
paratus is  secured  against  the  access  of  the  atmosphere;  and 
in  the  next  place,  in  the  index  of  the  diminishing  resistance, 
afforded  by  the  rise  of  the  mercurial  column. 

While  resting  a  few  minutes  let  me  read  to  you  what 
Hare  wrote  on  the  backwardness  in  the  oxides  of  nitrogen  to 
part  with  their  oxygen  to  phosphorus. 

"  This  characteristic  in  the  case  of  nitrous  oxide,  may  be 
illustrated  by  means  of  an  apparatus  like  that  employed  for 
the  combustion  of  phosphorus  in  oxygen  with  a  tall  cylin- 
drical receiver,  and  a  tube  descending  through  the  neck,  and 
along  the  axis  of  the  receiver,  terminating  in  a  capillary 
orifice  over  the  cup  for  holding  the  phosphorus.  The  upper 
end  of  the  tube,  outside  the  receiver,  is  furnished  with  a  cock, 
to  which  a  gum-elastic  bag  inflated  with  oxygen  is  attached. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  receiver  having  been  ex- 
hausted and  filled  with  nitrous  oxide ;  phosphorus,  previously 
placed  within  the  cup,  may  be  melted  without  taking  fire. 
But  as  soon  as  the  cock  communicating  with  the  bag  of  oxygen 
is  opened,  an  intense  combustion  ensues;  since  the  oxygen, 
emitted  in  a  jet  from  the  capillary  orifice  of  the  tube,  reach- 
ing the  melted  phosphorus,  excites  it  into  an  active  combus- 
tion, which  the  nitrous  oxide  afterwards  sustains  with  great 
energy." 

The  air-pump  was  a  very  much  used  and  favorite  instru- 
ment with  Hare.  The  one  on  the  table  is  of  new  construction. 


192  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

It  may  be  used  either  as  an  air-pump  or  condenser  or  as  both. 
The  operator  can  exhaust,  condense,  or  transfer  a  gas  from 
one  cavity  to  another,  or  even  pass  it  through  a  liquid.  Hare 
regarded  it  as  superior  to  the  elegant  pump  which  served 
him  for  years,  and  gave  preference  to  "  the  new  instrument." 

Next  we  observe  the  Discharger  for  Deflagrating  Wires. 
This  apparatus  Hare  used  in  lieu  of  Henley's  universal  dis- 
charger. It  consists,  as  we  see,  of  two  brass  plates,  secured 
to  the  pedestal  by  a  screw  bolt  which  passes  through  a  hole 
made  in  each,  near  one  extremity :  the  plates  are  thus  allowed 
a  circular  motion  about  the  bolt,  so  as  to  be  set  in  one  straight 
line,  or  in  any  angle  with  each  other.  On  one  of  the  plates 
near  the  extremity,  not  secured  by  the  bolt,  a  brass  socket 
is  soldered,  into  which  a  glass  column  is  cemented,  surmounted 
by  a  forceps.  At  the  corresponding  end  of  the  other  plate, 
there  is  a  brass  rod,  perpendicular  to  the  plate,  and  parallel 
to  the  glass  column.  This  rod  is  also  furnished  with  forceps. 
Between  these  forceps,  supported  and  insulated  by  the  glass 
column,  a  wire  is  stretched,  which  may  be  of  various  lengths, 
according  to  the  angle  which  the  plates  make  with  each  other. 
The  pedestal  is  metallic,  or  it  may  have  a  metallic  plate  at 
bottom,  in  communication,  with  the  external  coating  of  the  bat- 
tery. This  being  accomplished,  it  is  only  necessary  to  charge 
the  battery,  without  subsequently  breaking  the  communica- 
tion between  the  inner  coatings  of  the  jars,  and  the  prime  con- 
ductor, by  which  the  charge  is  conveyed.  In  that  case,  touch- 
ing the  conductor  is  equivalent  to  a  contact  with  the  inner  coat- 
ings of  the  jars,  so  far  as  electrical  results  are  concerned. 
Hence,  by  causing  one  of  the  knobs  of  the  discharger  with 
glass  handles,  to  be  in  contact  with  the  insulated  forceps,  and 
then  approximating  the  other  knob  to  the  prime  conductor,  the 
charge  of  the  battery  will  pass,  as  it  cannot  descend  by  the 
glass  column,  nor  reach  the  operator  through  the  glass  handles. 

We  almost  overlooked  the  rotary  multiplier  arranged  so 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  193 

nicely  in  that  balcony  case.  Hare  contrived  it  in  1836.  It 
is  a  galvanometer.  He  said  that  it  "  had  value  as  an  addi- 
tion to  the  amusing  if  not  to  the  useful  implements  of  science." 

Even  minor  apparatus — such  as  ordinarily  would  not 
attract  chemists,  received  Hare's  attention.  For,  those 
syphons  were  constructed  by  him.  In  the  one  "  a  cork  is 
perforated  in  two  places  parallel  to  the  axis.  Through  one 
of  the  perforations,  the  longer  leg  of  the  syphon  passes:  into 
the  other,  one  end  of  a  small  lead  tube  is  inserted.  In  order 
to  support  this  tube,  it  is  wound  about  the  syphon  until  it 
approaches  the  summit,  where  a  portion  of  about  three  or 
four  inches  in  length,  is  left  free,  so  that  advantage  may  be 
taken  of  its  flexibility,  to  bend  it  into  a  situation  convenient 
for  applying  the  lips  to  the  orifice.  About  the  cork,  the  neck 
of  a  stout  gum-elastic  bag  is  tied  air  tight.  The  joinings  of 
the  tubes  with  the  cork,  must  also  be  air  tight.  The  lower 
half  of  the  gum-elastic  bag  is  removed,  as  represented. 

In  order  to  put  this  syphon  into  operation,  a  bottle  must 
be  used,  having  a  neck  and  a  mouth  of  such  dimensions  as  to 
form  an  air  tight  juncture  with  the  bag  when  pressed  into 
it.  This  object  being  accomplished,  the  air  must  be  inhaled 
from  the  bottle,  until  the  diminution  of  pressure  causes  the 
liquid  to  come  over,  and  fill  the  syphon.  After  this,  on  re- 
leasing the  neck  of  the  bottle,  the  current  continues,  as  when 
established  in  any  other  way. 

In  the  second  one  with  the  more  complete  construction 
are  two  metal  tubes,  passing  through  perforations  made  for 
them  in  a  brass  disk,  turned  quite  true.  Through  one  of 
these  tubes,  which  is  by  much  the  larger,  the  syphon  passes, 
and  is  cemented  air  tight.  The  brass  disk  is  covered  by  a  piece 
of  gum-elastic,  which  may  be  obtained  by  dividing  a  bag  of 
proper  dimensions.  The  covering  thus  procured,  is  kept  in  its 
place  by  a  brass  band  or  clasp,  made  to  embrace  both  it,  and  the 
circumference  of  the  plate,  and  to  fasten  by  means  of  a  screw. 

13 


194  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

Before  applying  the  caoutchouc,  it  was  softened  by  soak- 
ing it  in  ether,  and  a  hole,  obviously  necessary,  was  made  in 
the  centre,  by  a  hollow  punch. 

There  is  no  difference  between  operating  with  this  syphon, 
and  the  other,  excepting  that  the  juncture  of  the  syphon 
with  the  bottle,  is  effected  by  pressing  the  orifice  of  the  latter 
against  the  disk  covered  with  gum-elastic. 

The  large  egg-shaped  vessel  with  a  wide  and  fairly  long, 
stoppered  neck  with  a  cylindrical  coil  on  the  outer  surface, 
standing  in  that  far  case  is  DeLuc's  Column  modified  by 
Zamboni,  and  still  further  by  Hare,  who  applied  it  as  an 
electrical  discriminator. 

And  there  is  the  galvanic  machine  which  Hare  devised 
and  employed  in  producing  ignition  in  rock  blasting.  In  it 
the  calorimotor  figures  prominently.  It  was  an  exceedingly 
valuable  instrument  in  its  day.  Hare  thought  his  method 
of  communicating  ignition  for  rock  blasting  might  "  be  ap- 
plied as  the  means  of  exploding  a  mine." 

Yonder  is  his  improved  Galvanometer  which  was  quite 
unusual  in  size.  Its  needles  were  about  19  inches  in  length. 
And  adjacent  is  the  single  gold  leaf  electroscope  which 
manifests  an  astonishing  sensitiveness  to  the  smallest  elec- 
trical force. 

The  next  device  is  intended  to  be  used  in  transferring  a 
liquid  from  a  carboy,  or  cask  to  bottles — it  is  especially  useful 
in  the  case  of  sulphuric  acid.  In  principle  it  is  the  syphon 
exhausted  by  a  small  pump.  "  This  apparatus,"  said  Hare, 
"  may  be  employed  to  raise  liquors  into  a  bar  room,  from 
casks  in  a  cellar,  with  this  advantage  over  the  pump  now 
used  for  that  purpose ;  that  the  liquid  does  not  pass  through 
the  pump." 

And  you  recall  that  the  master  was  constantly  endeavor- 
ing to  improve  chemical  processes.  For  instance,  you  surely 
remember  how  he  made  anhydrous  prussic  acid  by  letting 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  195 

hydrogen  sulphide  act  upon  mercuric  cyanide  and  condens- 
ing the  volatilized  acid  in  a  "  refrigerated  phial."  And,  in 
exploding  a  mixture  of  hydrogen  and  chlorine,  the  flask  con- 
taining them  was  so  placed  "  that  a  mirror  receiving  the  solar 
rays  directly,  reflected  them  upon  the  flask." 

Hare  illustrated  the  decomposition  and  recomposition  of 
water  upon  an  extensive  scale  by  the  use  of  that  large  eudi- 
ometer, at  the  right  end  of  the  table,  supplied  with  platinum 
"  *  electrodes '  agreeably  to  the  language  of  the  celebrated 
Faraday."  Is  it  not  a  striking  piece  of  apparatus,  calculated 
to  produce  a  marked  impression?  It  was,  in  short,  what  every 
teacher  of  the  science  does  at  present  in  his  experimental 
course  of  lectures,  but  Hare  operated  on  a  grander  scale. 

You  are  not  too  weary  to  hear  his  account  of  freezing 
water  by  the  aid  of  sulphuric  acid — are  you?  Well,  it  was 
like  this : 

"  It  appeared  to  me  that  the  failure  arose  from  imper- 
fection in  the  vacuum.  An  excellent  pump,  with  perfectly 
air  tight  cocks,  is  indispensable ;  and  not  only  must  the  pump 
be  well  made,  it  must  likewise  be  in  good  order.  Neither 
should  the  packing  of  the  pistons,  the  valves,  nor  the  cocks, 
allow  of  the  slightest  leakage.  If  a  pump  has  been  used 
previously  for  freezing,  by  the  experiment  of  ether,  it  will  not 
be  competent  for  the  experiment  in  question,  unless  it  be 
taken  apart  and  cleansed. 

Cocks  of  the  ordinary  construction,  are  rarely  if  ever 
perfectly  air  tight,  and  their  imperfection  always  increases 
with  wear.  Under  these  impressions,  having  cleansed  my  air 
pump,  and  put  it  into  the  best  order  possible,  for  the  purpose 
of  obviating  leakage  through  the  cocks  associated  with  the 
instrument,  I  closed  the  hole  in  the  centre  of  the  air  pump 
plate  by  a  screw,  and  for  a  receiver  made  use  of  a  bell  glass 
with  a  perforated  neck  furnished  with  a  brass  cap  and  a 
female  screw,  by  means  of  which  one  of  my  valve  cocks  was 


196  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

attached.  A  communication  between  the  bell,  and  the  cham- 
bers of  my  pump,  was  established  through  the  valve  cock 
and  a  flexible  lead  pipe.  In  this  way  I  succeeded  in  preserv- 
ing the  vacuum,  longer  than  when  the  cocks  of  the  air  pump 
were  employed  in  the  process;  and  accomplished  the  conge- 
lation of  water  by  means  of  the  vacuum  and  sulphuric  acid. 

Latterly,  I  have  used  an  apparatus  in  which  a  brass  cover 
is  made  to  close  a  large  glass  jar  so  as  to  be  quite  tight.  In 
operating,  the  bottom  of  the  jar  was  covered  with  sulphuric 
acid,  and  another  jar  with  feet,  also  supplied  with  acid  enough 
to  make  a  stratum  half  an  inch  deep  on  the  bottom,  was  in- 
troduced. The  bottom  of  the  vessel  last  mentioned,  was,  by 
means  of  the  feet,  kept  at  such  a  height  above  the  surface  of 
the  acid  in  the  outer  jar,  as  not  to  touch  it.  Upon  the  surface 
of  the  glass  vessel,  a  small  thin  sheet  brass  was  placed,  made 
concave  in  the  middle,  so  as  to  hold  a  small  quantity  of  water. 

The  brass  cover  was  furnished  with  three  valve  cocks,  one 
communicating  with  the  air  pump,  another  with  a  barometer 
gauge,  and  the  third  with  a  funnel  supplied  with  water. 
Under  these  circumstances,  having  made  a  vacuum  on  a 
Saturday,  I  was  enabled  to  freeze  water  situated  on  the  brass, 
and  to  keep  up  the  congelation  till  the  Thursday  following. 
As  the  water  in  the  state  of  ice  evaporates  probably  as  fast 
as  when  liquid,  during  the  night,  the  whole  quantity  frozen 
would  have  entirely  disappeared,  but  for  the  assistance  of  a 
watchman  whom  I  engaged  to  supply  water  at  intervals. 
At  a  maximum  I  suppose  the  mass  of  ice  was  at  times  about 
two  inches  square,  and  from  a  quarter  to  a  half  an  inch 
thick.  The  gradual  introduction  of  the  water,  by  aid  of  the 
funnel  and  valve  cock,  also  of  the  pipe  by  which  it  was  con- 
ducted to  the  cavity  in  the  sheet  brass,  enabled  me  to  accumu- 
late a  much  larger  mass  than  I  could  have  produced  other- 
wise. The  brass  band  which  embraces  the  inner  jar  near 
the  brim,  with  the  three  straps  proceeding  from  it,  serves 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  197 

to  keep  this  jar  in  a  proper  position;  that  is  in  fact  concen- 
tric with  the  outer  jar." 

Having  seen  some  of  his  chemical  and  physical  apparatus, 
may  we  not,  with  propriety,  pay  a  little  visit  to  the  man  him- 
self? On  tapping  the  door  of  the  study  gently  there  at  once 
comes  a  kind  invitation  to  enter.  We  are  profoundly  im- 
pressed by  meeting,  at  the  threshold,  a  figure  of  real  grandeur 
with  a  remarkable  head  and  features;  the  frame  robust — 
powerful  and  ample  in  structure;  but  the  genial  welcome— 
the  smile  in  the  eye — encourage  us,  so  we  hasten  to  con- 
gratulate him  upon  the  wonderful  things  we  have  seen,  while 
he  smilingly  receives  our  words  in  silence,  for  it  seems  he 
never  gave  much  thought  to  his  marvellous  inventive  powers 
and  was  more  apt  to  refer  to  some  theoretical  topic  to  which 
he  had  given  consideration.  While  we  talk  he  turns  to  a  case 
from  which  he  removes  a  small  sealed  tube  and,  breaking 
off  the  end,  drops  on  a  plate  a  brown  powder  which  imme- 
diately inflames  and  we  are  informed  that  this  is  the  new 
pyrophorus,  obtained  by  exposing  Prussian  Blue  to  a  high 
heat,  in  a  tube  sealed  at  both  ends. 

There  was  next  exhibited  to  us  a  remarkably  beautiful 
specimen  of  potassium,  in  globular  form,  and  we  heard  how 
it  had  been  prepared  by  modifying  Brunner's  process  which 
consisted  in  subjecting  to  intense  heat,  in  a  luted  iron  mer- 
cury bottle,  carbonized  cream  of  tartar  mixed  with  coarsely 
powdered  charcoal.  The  potassium,  as  it  distilled  over,  was 
caught  in  a  copper  vessel  containing  naphtha.  "  I  substituted 
an  iron  tube  which  becomes  finally  full  of  the  metal  and  a 
carbonaceous  mass,  which  sublimes  during  the  operation. 
The  tube  is  then  removed  and  the  end  nearest  the  bottle 
screwed  into  a  tapering  tube,  while  the  other  orifice  is  closed 
by  a  cap,  into  which  it  fastens  by  screwing.  The  tube  is  then 
placed  vertically  in  a  furnace,  through  the  bottom  of  which 
the  tapering  tube  extends  so  as  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  the 


198  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

heat.  Under  the  orifice  of  this  tube,  a  vessel  may  be  placed, 
containing  some  naphtha,  to  receive  the  potassium  as  it  de- 
scends in  globules,  after  fusion  or  condensation  from  the 
state  of  vapour.  The  last  portions  are  not  evolved  before  the 
fire  in  the  furnace  reaches  a  white  heat.  .  .  .  By  these 
means,  I  procured  last  winter,  at  one  operation,  more  than 
six  ounces  of  potassium." 

It  was  in  reference  to  this  that  the  accompanying  letter 
was  written: 

"My  dear  Silliman      ;     '-       -     "Philada  20th  Jan" 

I  beg  pardon  for  not  replying  sooner  to  your  letter  of  the 
10th  inst.  but  trust  you  are  not  so  wanting  in  faith  as  [to] 
doubt  that  I  have  had  sufficient  reason  for  the  delay. 

The  bellows  which  I  employ  in  making  potassium  are 
about  of  the  largest  size  usually  employ'd  by  blacksmiths. 
The  tuyere  is  four  inches  square  so  that  when  using  them  for 
the  ordinary  forge  fire  we  have  to  counterbalance  the  upper 
board  instead  of  loading  it  as  is  common  to  do —  When  to 
be  used  to  produce  the  greatest  heat  we  remove  the  counter- 
poise &  without  loading  can  blow  with  ample  force  against 
a  stratum  of  coal  one  foot  in  height — 

I  have  a  square  hole  in  the  hearth  about  ten  inches  each 
way  on  which  I  place  a  ...  grate —  I  have  some  bars 
put  together  with  screws  so  as  to  be  widen'd  or  narrow'd 
lengthened  or  shorten'd  thus.  These  bars  are  used  to  bind 
together  Sturbridge  fire  bricks,  two  of  which  are  shortened 
at  a  convenient  place  for  laying  the  gun  barrel  across. 

This  furnace  is  seated  over  the  grate  of  its  dimensions 
being  made  to  correspond  with  the  length  of  the  containing 
tube  so  as  to  let  it  bear  about  ^  inch  at  each  end  on  the 
bricks  under  it — There  should  be  about  3  inches  in  each  side 
of  the  tube  between  it  &  the  brick  work — 

I  have  not  used  lute  to  the  tube  but  mean  to  try  one  next 
time — I  am  told  farinaceous  substances  as  oil  cake  meal 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  199 

kneaded  with  clay  answer  in  very  high  heats.  Plumbago  has 
also  been  recommended.  I  should  advise  to  use  some  thin 
coating  which  might  vitrify — The  Blacksmiths  use  loam — 
Perhaps  Borax  &  lime  might  be  good — A  thick  luting  may 
impede  the  heat  too  much — I  prefer  card  teeth  as  being 
of  the  purest  iron  &  very  much  divided  like  hair  in  a  mode 
singularly  calculated  for  exposure. 

I  could  send  you  some  waste  card  teeth  at  20  cents  p 
pound. 

The  box  of  minerals  is  at  Mr  Jordans.  I  have  had  no 
opportunity  of  sending  it.  I  have  received  &  approve  of 
your  last  and  will  attend  to  its  suggestions. 

Your  faithful 

Fd  RoBt  HABE  " 

"  It  might  be  possible  to  baste  the  iron  with  some  vitrifiable 
matter  &  improve  the  process  &  thus  save  it  from  injury  in 
a  greater  degree  somewhat  as  cooks  serve  their  roast  meat." 

In  another  place  he  tells  that  from  1818  he  had  pursued 
the  method  of  keeping  potassium  in  glass  without  naphtha. 
I  copied  his  account  from  an  early  publication.  It  reads : 

"  I  have  been  accustomed  to  seal  a  tube  at  one  end,  then 
to  heat  it  at  a  convenient  distance  from  the  end,  and  re- 
duce the  diameter  by  drawing  it  down  to  about  a  quarter 
of  an  inch.  Into  the  tube  thus  prepared,  hydrogen  is  made 
to  enter,  so  as  to  exclude  the  air.  The  potassium  being  then 
introduced,  and  the  open  end  of  the  tube,  closed  by  means 
of  a  spirit  lamp,  the  metal  may  be  fused,  and  with  a  little 
dexterity  may  be  transferred  in  pure  globules  to  that  part 
of  the  cavity  of  the  tube  which  is  between  the  sealed  end 
and  the  narrow  part.  This  object  being  effected,  the  tube  is 
divided  at  that  part,  and  sealed  by  fusion. 

In  this  case  the  potassium  usually  falls  upon  the  glass  and 
adheres  to  it,  presenting  a  perfectly  brilliant  metallic  coating, 


200  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

and  preserves  this  appearance  without  diminution  for  years. 
It  is  however  liable  to  inflammation  from  slight  causes 
when  kept  without  naphtha.  I  had  an  ounce  of  it  in  a  small 
phial  for  eighteen  months  which  took  fire  on  my  venturing 
to  divide  the  phial  by  means  of  a  file." 

On  a  certain  occasion  he  tried  to  free  small  globules  of 
potassium  from  naphtha  by  heating  them  in  a  sealed  tube, 
"  properly  recurved  to  act  as  a  retort."  After  the  metal  had 
been  removed  he  sought  to  examine  "  the  caput  mortuum 
left  in  the  tube  used  as  a  retort."  He  struck  it  with  a  ham- 
mer and  was  "  startled  by  a  violent  detonation."  Berzelius 
thought  these  explosions  due  to  moisture,  but  Hare  experi- 
enced them  when  moisture  could  not  have  contributed  to  the 
result.  His  belief  was  that  they  arose  from  a  "  reaction  of 
potassium,  naphtha  and  flint  glass." 

I  am  quite  sure  that  you  will  enjoy  his  story  of  how  he 
filled  tubes  with  potassium.  He  said : 

"  I  have  succeeded  in  filling  glass  tubes  with  potassium  in 
the  following  manner.  One  end  of  a  tube  is  luted  to  one  of 
the  orifices  of  a  cock ;  to  the  other  orifice,  the  neck  of  a  gum 
elastic  bag  of  a  suitable  size  is  attached.  The  open  end  of  the 
tube  is  reduced  in  diameter  by  means  of  a  flame  excited  by 
the  blowpipe,  so  as  to  have  an  orifice  about  large  enough  to 
receive  a  knitting  needle.  The  gum-elastic  bag  is  filled  with 
hydrogen,  and  the  cock  closed.  Meanwhile  the  potassium  is 
heated  in  naphtha,  in  a  larger  tube,  till  it  lies  at  the  bottom 
in  a  liquid  state. 

In  the  next  place,  the  bag  is  grasped  with  one  hand  and 
subjected  to  pressure,  at  the  same  time  introducing  the  small 
orifice  of  the  tube  into  the  naphtha,  the  cock  is  opened  till 
the  hydrogen  begins  to  escape  in  bubbles.  The  escape  of 
the  bubbles  is  kept  up  to  prevent  the  naphtha  from  entering 
the  tube,  and  to  evacuate  the  bag.  Before  this  is  quite  accom- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  201 

plished,  the  orifice  of  the  tube  is  to  be  approximated  to  the 
surface  of  the  potassium  as  nearly  as  possible  without  enter- 
ing it,  and  just  as  the  last  of  the  gas  is  expelled,  is  to  be 
merged  in  the  metal.  The  cock  is  at  the  same  time  to  be 
closed,  and  the  pressure  of  the  hand  on  the  bag  discontinued. 
The  cock  being  in  the  next  place  very  cautiously  opened,  the 
elasticity  of  the  bag  counteracts  the  pressure  of  the  atmos- 
phere within  the  tube;  and  the  liquid  potassium  is  forced  to 
rise  into  it.  This  effect  may  be  controlled  by  the  cock,  which 
is  to  be  closed  when  the  column  of  the  metal  has  attained 
a  satisfactory  height.  After  being  removed,  cooled  and  sep- 
arated from  the  cock,  the  tube  may  be  closed  by  a  covering 
of  sheet  gum-elastic,  such  as  is  procured  by  the  inflation  of 
bags  softened  by  ether.  Any  portion  of  the  contents  thus 
preserved  may  be  extricated  by  cutting  off  and  fracturing  a 
portion  of  the  tube,  adequate  to  yield  the  requisite  quantity. 

In  order  to  guard  against  accidents  the  apparatus  was 
heated  in  this  process  by  a  bath  of  naphtha ;  in  a  bath  of  hot 
water.  For  the  object  last  mentioned,  the  vessels  ordinarily 
used  for  the  solution  of  glue  were  employed,  the  naphtha 
being  placed  in  the  inner  vessel  usually  occupied  by  the  glue. 

I  have  long  been  in  the  practice  of  filling  tubes  with 
phosphorus  by  a  similar  process." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Hare  synthesized  ammonia 
in  a  most  original  way:  it  consisted  in  the  union  of  two 
volumes  of  nitric  oxide  and  five  volumes  of  hydrogen  on 
directing  this  mixture  in  the  form  of  a  jet  upon  gently  heated 
platinum  sponge.  He  evidently  was  the  first  person  to  use 
platinized  asbestos  for  such  contact  work. 

As  we  sit  and  gaze  upon  these  almost  numberless  objects 
of  Hare's  originality  and  skill  there  come  to  mind  other 
remarkable  things  which  he  achieved.  It  was  he  who  sug- 
gested the  expediency  of  using  the  "  galvanic  fluid  "  to  fire 
gunpowder  below  the  surface  of  water.  On  one  occasion 


202  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

before  the  members  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society 
he  referred  to  "  the  safety,  certainty  and  facility  "  with  which 
this  might  be  done.  And  said  he  again  referred  to  it  "  in 
consequence  of  the  recent  publication  of  analogous  experi- 
ments by  his  friend,  Professor  Daniell,  of  King's  College, 
London,  who,  in  the  case  in  point,  no  doubt  as  in  that  in  which 
he  had  "  '  reinvented '  Dr.  Hare's  concentric  blowpipe,  was 
ignorant  of  the  result  previously  obtained  in  this  country. 
Prof.  Daniell  had,  in  blasting,  used  the  highly  ingenious 
apparatus  known  as  '  Daniell's  sustaining  battery '  the  con- 
trivance of  which  had  done  him  great  honour;  but  he  con- 
ceived that  however  preferable  might  be  a  battery  of  that 
kind,  in  processes  requiring  a  permanent  current;  for  a 
transient  energetic  ignition,  such  as  is  most  suitable  for 
blasting,  the  caloric  motors  which  he  had  contrived  would 
be  decidedly  more  efficacious." 

It  was  before  the  same  Society  that  he  told  how  on  explod- 
ing the  elements  of  water  in  contact  with  certain  gases  or  essen- 
tial oils,  "  the  aqueous  elements,  instead  of  condensing,  com- 
bine with  the  hydrogen  and  carbon  to  yield  a  permanent  gas." 

In  laboratories  where  frequent  recourse  is  had  to  the  use 
of  dry  hydrogen  chloride  as,  for  example,  in  the  expulsion 
of  molybdic  acid  from  pure  sodium  molybdate,  in  the  form  of 
MoO  ( OH )  2C12,  the  gas  is  evolved  by  dropping  crude  muri- 
atic acid  from  a  funnel  tube  into  a  round-bottom  flask  con- 
taining concentrated  sulphuric  acid  with  application  of  a 
very  gentle  heat.  The  reverse  may  be  used — sulphuric  acid 
into  commercial  muriatic  acid.  This  procedure  Hare  made 
known  to  the  chemical  world. 

All  of  us  are  familiar  with  the  "  roseate  tint  "  which  may 
be  imparted  to  light  from  illuminating  gas  by  the  flame  sur- 
rounded by  mica.  This  we  owe  to  Hare's  ingenuity.  He 
said  that "  a  thin  sheet  of  mica,  curved  into  a  cylindrical  form 
so  as  to  enter  a  glass  chimney,  will  retain  the  form  thus  im- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  203 

parted,  in  consequence  of  its  elasticity  and  the  confinement 
of  the  including  glass.  Thus  employed,  mica  would  correct 
the  lurid  influence  of  gas  illumination,  so  much  objected  to 
by  all  who  are  desirous  to  appear  "  couleur  de  rose." 

Very  neat  chimneys  had  been  constructed,  and  main- 
tained in  the  cylindrical  form,  by  frames  of  tin  plate,  secured 
by  rivets.  Of  course,  the  more  delicate  the  frames,  consis- 
tently with  due  firmness,  the  better.  However  costly  at  first, 
mica  chimneys,  he  believed,  would  be  cheaper  in  the  long  run, 
than  those  in  common  use. 

When  employed  within  a  glass  chimney,  as  he  had  de- 
scribed, the  mica  afforded  the  glass  much  protection  against 
the  flaming  gas. 

The  mica,  by  which  these  results  were  obtained,  when  in 
thick  plates,  had  a  brownish  red  tinge,  whether  seen  by 
reflected  or  transmitted  light. 

Further,  he  invented  the  valve-cock  or  gallows  screw, 
by  which  "  communicating  cavities  "  in  separate  pieces  of 
apparatus  can  be  connected  and  made  perfectly  air-tight. 

Hare  further  devised  an  apparatus  for  separating  car- 
bonic oxide  from  carbonic  acid,  by  means  of  lime  water. 
It  stands  just  in  front  of  the  litrameter. 

"  Lime  water  being  introduced  in  sufficient  quantity, 
into  an  inverted  large  bell  glass,  another  smaller  bell  glass 
is  supported  within  it.  Both  of  the  bells  have  perforated 
necks.  The  inverted  bell  is  furnished  with  a  brass  cap  hav- 
ing a  stuffing  box  attached  to  it,  through  which  a  tube  of 
copper  slides  air-tight.  About  the  lower  end  of  this  tube, 
the  neck  of  the  gum-elastic  bag  is  tied.  The  neck  of  the 
other  bell  is  furnished  with  a  cap  and  cock,  surmounted  by 
a  gallows  screw,  by  means  of  which  a  lead  pipe  with  a  brass 
knob  at  the  end  suitably  perforated,  may  be  fastened  to  it, 
or  removed  at  any  moment.  Suppose  this  pipe,  by  aid  of 
another  brass  knob  at  the  other  extremity,  to  be  attached  to 


204  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

the  perforated  neck  of  a  very  tall  bell  glass  filled  with  water 
upon  the  shelf  of  a  pneumatic  cistern;  on  opening  a  com- 
munication between  the  bells,  the  water  will  subside  in  the  tall 
bell  glass,  over  the  cistern,  and  the  air  of  the  bell  glass  being 
drawn  into  it,  the  lime  water  will  rise  into  and  occupy  the 
whole  of  the  space  within  the  latter.  As  soon  as  this  is 
effected,  the  cocks  must  be  closed  and  the  tall  bell  glass  re- 
placed by  a  small  one  filled  with  water,  and  furnished  with  a 
gallows  screw  and  cock.  This  bell  being  attached  to  the  knob 
of  the  lead  pipe  to  which  the  tall  bell  had  been  fastened  be- 
fore, the  apparatus  is  ready  for  use.  Hare  said,  "  I  have 
employed  it  in  the  new  process  for  obtaining  carbonic  oxide 
from  oxalic  acid,  by  distillation  with  sulphuric  acid  in  a  glass 
retort.  The  gaseous  product  consists  of  equal  volumes  of 
oxide  and  carbonic  acid,  which,  being  received  in  a  bell  glass 
communicating  as  above  described  by  a  pipe  with  the  bell 
glass,  may  be  transferred  into  the  latter,  through  the  pipe, 
by  opening  the  cocks.  As  the  gaseous  mixture  enters  the 
smaller  bell,  the  lime  water  subsides.  As  soon  as  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  the  gas  has  entered,  the  gaseous  mixture  may, 
by  means  of  the  gum-elastic  bag  and  the  hand,  be  subjected 
to  repeated  jets  of  lime  water,  and  thus  depurated  of  all 
the  carbonic  acid.  By  raising  the  water  in  the  outer  bell 
the  purified  carbonic  oxide  may  be  propelled,  through  the 
cock  and  lead  pipe,  into  any  vessel  to  which  it  may  be  desir- 
able to  have  it  transferred  and  measured." 

Hare  also  devised  a  water-bath,  with  funnel,  for  use  in 
the  filtration  of  hot,  saturated  solutions,  so  as  to  prevent  too 
rapid  crystallization.  Modern  forms  of  this  apparatus  exist. 

And  then  we  next  saw  "  the  twenty-three  ounces  of  plat- 
inum which  on  a  certain  occasion  he  had  fused  with  the  oxy- 
hydrogen  flame,"  as  well  as  a  specimen  of  pure  platinum 
freed  from  iridium  by  the  process  of  Berzelius ;  and  the  iridium 
and  rhodium  which  had  been  fused.  These  latter  metals 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  205 

"  became  more  fusible  by  continued  and  repeated  fusion  .  .  . 
both  appeared  to  evolve  some  volatile  matter,  and  did  not  be- 
come completely  solid  until  after  being  repeatedly  fused."  He 
also  succeeded  in  fusing  iridium  osmiuret.  In  determining 
the  specific  gravity  of  iridium  he  found  it  to  be  21.80 — higher 
therefore  than  that  of  platinum.  From  this  he  remarked: 

"An  important  inference  from  these  results  was,  that 
as  iridium  is  the  only  impurity  in  standard  platinum,  a  high 
specific  gravity  indicates  neither  a  superior  degree  of  purity 
nor  malleability. 

A  piece  of  standard  malleable  platinum,  of  a  very  fine 
white  colour,  presented  to  Dr.  Hare  by  his  excellency,  Count 
Cancrine,  the  Russian  minister  of  finance,  as  of  the  best 
quality  of  Russian  platinum,  proved,  according  to  Eckfeldt, 
to  have  a  specific  gravity  of  21.31 ;  when  a  specimen,  purified 
from  iridium  agreeably  to  the  instruction  of  Berzelius,  and 
which  had  been  found  pre-eminently  susceptible  of  being 
beaten  into  leaf,  weighed  only  21.16. 

On  its  first  fusion,  Hare  found  the  specific  gravity  of 
rhodium  to  be  11;  precisely  what,  on  examining  his  books, 
it  was  ascertained  to  have  been  made  by  Wollaston.  But 
after  it  had  crystallized  superficially,  as  above  described,  it 
was  by  a  magnifier  discovered  to  be  minutely  porous  under 
the  facets.  In  this  state  its  specific  gravity  was  found  by 
Eckfeldt  to  be  10.8. 

Observe  that  bottle  labeled  fulminating  silver.  Hare  was 
accidentally  badly  injured  by  an  explosion  of  this  substance. 
His  friend  Silliman  thereupon  wrote  and  published  the 
following: 

"  Many  persons  have  sustained  injuries,  more  or  less 
severe,  from  fulminating  silver,  and  much  anxiety  was  felt 
for  the  safety  of  Dr.  Hare,  who  met  with  a  dangerous  acci- 
dent, of  this  kind,  early  in  February  (1832). 

We  learn  from  him  that  the  quantity  which  exploded 


206  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

was  such,  as  in  its  light  feathery  state,  nearly  filled  an  ounce 
bottle.  It  had  been  dried  on  a  filter,  but,  in  three  trials, 
failed  to  explode  by  percussion.  By  a  subsequent  exposure 
in  the  evaporating  oven,  it  was  rendered  unusually  explosive. 
Hence  as  Dr.  Hare  was  in  the  act  of  pouring  out  a  small 
portion,  upon  the  face  of  a  hammer,  the  whole  exploded, 
without  any  obvious  cause,  unless  as  he  suggests,  it  was  a 
slight  pressure,  which  might  possibly  have  been  created  upon 
a  particle  of  the  powder,  between  the  neck  of  the  bottle  and 
the  hammer.  By  the  explosion,  the  bones  of  all  the  fingers 
of  the  right  hand,  except  the  little  finger,  were  more  or  less 
broken;  part  of  the  flesh  of  the  terminating  joint  of  the 
thumb  was  torn  off  together  with  the  nail,  and  the  latter 
was  found  upon  the  laboratory  floor ;  the  corresponding  finger 
was  much  injured,  and  the  palm  bruised  and  lacerated. 

His  faithful  and  experienced  assistant,  George  Work- 
man, was  holding  the  hammer  at  the  moment  of  the  explosion, 
and  was  consequently  wounded  in  the  face  and  eyes;  into 
one  of  the  latter,  a  spicula  of  glass  was  driven,  which  was 
not  removed  without  skillful  surgical  aid ;  he  recovered  how- 
ever, in  a  fortnight.  A  pupil  was  wounded  slightly  in  the 
face,  and  Dr.  Hare  himself  had  a  small  fragment  of  glass 
removed  from  one  of  his  eyes.  Among  his  late  and  present 
colleagues,  are  some  of  the  most  skillful  of  surgeons,  who, 
with  his  pupils,  were  immediately  present  to  afford  every 
necessary  aid.  It  appears,  that  he  had  been  accustomed,  for 
six  years,  to  pour  from  the  same  vial,  such  portions  of  ful- 
minating silver  as  he  needed  for  his  experiments,  and  had 
never  met  with  any  accident.  He  had,  in  the  present  in- 
stance, prepared  an  unusual  quantity  with  reference  to  some 
analytical  experiments  which  he  had  proposed  to  perform 
by  igniting  the  powder  in  a  receiver  of  known  capacity,  by 
means  of  a  wire  galvanized  in  vacuo;  the  quantity  of  gaseous 
matter  was  to  be  ascertained  by  a  gage,  and  the  kinds  by 
accurate  eudiometrical  analysis. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  207 

Happily,  no  tetanic  symptoms  followed,  and  although  the 
patient  suffered  intensely,  he  has  been  mercifully  spared  to 
his  family  and  friends  and  the  world.  Excepting  some  rigidity 
and  tenderness  in  the  renovated  muscles,  he  is  now  recovered." 

Another  vial  is  marked  sugar  from  the  sweet  potato,  of 
which  Hare  said : 

"  Dr.  Tidyman  of  South  Carolina,  lately  supplied  me 
with  some  sweet  potatoes,  of  a  kind  in  which  sweet  matter  is 
peculiarly  abundant,  and  requested  that  I  would  ascertain 
if  there  were  any  sugar  in  them.  Having  pared,  and  by 
means  of  the  instrument  used  for  slicing  cabbages  or  cucum- 
bers, reduced  them  to  very  thin  slices;  about  a  pound  was 
boiled  in  alcohol  of  the  specific  gravity  of  0.845,  which  ap- 
peared to  extract  all  the  sweetness,  yet  on  cooling  yielded  no 
crystals  of  sugar.  The  solution  being  subjected  to  distilla- 
tion, till  the  alcohol  was  removed,  an  uncrystallizable  syrup 
remained.  In  like  manner,  when  aqueous  infusions  of  the 
potatoes  were  concentrated,  by  boiling  or  evaporation,  the 
residual  syrup  was  uncrystallizable.  It  appears  therefore 
that  the  sweet  matter  of  this  vegetable  is  analogous  to  molas- 
ses, or  the  sacchrum  to  malt.  Its  resemblance  to  the  latter 
was  so  remarkable,  that  I  was  led  to  boil  a  wort,  made  from 
the  potatoes,  of  proper  spissitude,  say  s.  g.  1060,  with  due 
quantity  of  hops,  about  two  hours. 

It  was  then  cooled  to  about  sixty-five  degrees,  and  yeast 
was  added.  As  far  as  I  could  judge,  the  phenomena  of  the 
fermentation,  and  the  resulting  liquor,  were  precisely  the 
same  as  if  malt  had  been  used.  The  wort  was  kept  in  a 
warm  place  until  the  temperature  85  F.  and  the  fall  of  the 
heat  showed  the  attenuation  to  be  sufficient.  Yeast  subse- 
quently rose,  which  was  removed  by  a  spoon.  By  refrigera- 
tion a  further  quantity  of  yeast  precipitated,  from  which 
the  liquor  being  decanted  became  tolerably  fine,  for  new 
beer,  and,  in  flavour,  exactly  like  ale  made  from  malt. 


208  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

I  believe  it  possible  to  make  good  liquor  from  malt  in 
this  country,  as  in  England,  but  that  in  our  climate  much 
more  vigilance  is  required  to  have  it  invariably  good,  prin- 
cipally because  the  great  and  sudden  changes  of  temperature, 
render  malting  much  more  precarious.  Should  the  saccharum 
of  the  sweet  potato  prove  to  be  a  competent  substitute  for 
that  of  germinated  grain,  the  quality  will  probably  be  less 
variable,  since  its  development  requires  but  little  skill  and 
vigilance. 

Besides,  as  it  exists  naturally  in  the  plant,  it  may  be 
had  where  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  make,  or  procure 
malt.  Hops,  the  other  material  for  beer,  require  only  pick- 
ing and  drying  to  perfect  them  for  use. 

They  are  indigenous  in  the  United  States,  and,  no  doubt, 
may  be  raised  in  any  part  of  our  territory. 

I  have  dried,  in  my  evaporating  oven,  some  of  the  sweet 
potatoes  in  slices.  It  seems  to  me  that  in  this  state  they  will 
keep  a  long  while,  and  may  be  useful  in  making  leaven  for 
bread.  They  may  take  the  place  of  the  malt  necessary  in  a 
certain  proportion,  to  render  distillers'  wash  fermentable. 
The  yeast  yielded  by  the  potato  beer  appeared  in  odour  and 
flavour  to  resemble  that  from  malt  beer  surprisingly,  and  the 
quantity,  in  proportion,  was  as  great.  In  raising  bread,  it 
was  found  equally  efficacious. 

I  propose  the  word  suavin,  from  the  Latin  suavis,  sweet, 
to  distinguish  the  syrup  of  the  sweet  potato.  The  same  word 
might,  perhaps,  be  advantageously  applied  as  a  generic  ap- 
pellation to  molasses,  and  the  uncrystallizable  sugar  of  grapes, 
of  honey,  and  of  malt. 

Crystallizable  sugar  might  be  termed  saccharin,  since  the 
terminating  of  saccharum  is  appropriated  in  chemistry  to 
metals." 

In  the  little  jar  at  the  side  of  the  vial  containing  ful- 
minating silver  is  a  specimen  of  boron.  It  was  made  ( 1833) 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  209 

by  the  interaction  of  potassium  and  vitrified  boracic  acid  in 
vacuo.  In  its  preparation  Hare  made  a  circular  brass  plate, 
like  the  plate  of  an  air-pump  "so  as  to  produce  with  any 
suitable  receivers  properly  ground,  an  air-tight  juncture." 
It  was  supported  on  the  upper  end  of  a  hollow  brass  cylin- 
der, with  the  bore  of  which  it  had  a  corresponding  aperture. 
The  brass  cylinder  was  about  three  inches  in  diameter,  and 
six  inches  in  height,  being  inserted  at  its  lower  end  into  a 
block  of  wood  as  a  basis.  This  cylinder  received  below,  a 
screw,  which  supported  a  copper  tube,  of  about  two  inches  in 
diameter,  so  as  to  have  its  axis  concentric  with  that  of  the 
cylinder,  and  to  extend  about  four  inches  above  the  plate. 
The  copper  tube,  thus  supported,  was  closed  at  the  upper 
termination  by  a  cup  of  copper,  of  a  shape  nearly  hemispher- 
ical, and  soldered  at  the  upper  edge,  to  the  edge  of  the  tube; 
so  that  the  whole  of  the  cavity  of  the  cup,  was  within  that  of 
the  tube.  Hence  the  bottom  of  the  cup  was  accessible  to  any 
body,  not  larger  than  the  bore  of  the  tube,  without  any  com- 
munication arising  between  the  cavity  of  the  tube,  and  that  of 
any  receiver  placed  upon  the  plate,  over  the  cup  and  tube. 

Into  the  side  of  the  cylinder,  supporting  the  plate,  a  valve 
cock  was  screwed,  by  means  of  which,  and  a  flexible  leaden 
tube,  a  communication  with  an  air-pump  was  opened,  or 
discontinued,  at  pleasure. 

The  cup  being  first  covered  with  a  portion  of  the  vitrified 
boracic  acid,  as  anhydrous  as  possible,  and  finely  pulverized, 
the  potassium  was  introduced,  and  afterwards  covered  with 
a  further  portion  of  the  same  acid,  two  parts  of  the  potas- 
sium being  used  for  one  of  the  acid.  A  large  glass  receiver 
was  then  placed  on  the  plate,  secured  by  rods  concentric  with 
the  tube  and  cup ;  from  the  heat  of  which  the  glass  was  to  be 
protected  by  a  bright  cylinder  of  sheet  brass,  placed  around 
it  so  as  to  be  concentrical  with  the  receiver  and  tube. 

The  apparatus  being  so  prepared,  and  the  receiver  ex- 

14 


210  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

hausted  of  air  by  means  of  the  air-pump,  an  incandescent 
iron  was  introduced  through  the  bore  of  the  tube,  so  as  to 
touch  the  bottom  of  the  copper  cup.  In  a  short  time  a  re- 
action commenced,  which,  aiding  the  influence  of  the  hot  iron, 
rendered  the  cup  and  its  contents  red  hot.  A  deep  red  flame 
appears  throughout  the  mass,  after  which  the  reaction  les- 
sens, and  the  heat  declines. 

When  the  cup  has  become  cold,  the  air  is  admitted  into 
the  receiver,  and  the  contents  are  washed  with  water.  If  any 
of  the  acid  has  escaped  decomposition,  it  may  be  removed 
by  boiling  the  mass  with  a  solution  of  potash  or  soda.  After 
this  treatment  and  due  desiccation  a  powder  will  remain,  hav- 
ing the  characteristic  color  and  properties  of  boron. 

The  next  bottle  contains  silicon.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  Hare  had  isolated  this  element  and  also  boron  from 
their  gaseous  fluorides  with  the  aid  of  potassium  and  the 
calorimotor.  This  happened  in  1833.  Some  time  after  he 
resorted  to  a  much  simpler  process : 

"A  bell  glass,  over  mercury,  was  filled  with  fluosilicic 
acid,  and  by  means  of  a  bent  wire,  a  cage  of  wire  gauze,  con- 
taining a  suitable  quantity  of  potassium,  was  introduced 
through  the  mercury  into  the  cavity  of  the  bell,  and  supported 
in  a  position  nearly  in  the  centre  of  it.  A  knob  of  iron  was 
made  at  the  end  of  the  rod,  so  recurved  as  to  reach  the  cage 
with  ease.  The  knob,  having  been  heated  nearly  white  hot, 
was  passed  through  the  mercury,  so  as  to  touch  the  cage,  and 
cause  the  combustion  of  the  potassium  and  evolution  of  the 
silicon.  Of  this,  much  remains  attached  to  the  cage,  in  com- 
bination with  the  fluoride  of  potassium,  from  which  the  silicon 
may  be  separated  by  washing  in  cold  water  and  digestion  in 
nitric  acid. 

"  The  silicon  thus  obtained  does  not  appear  to  be  acted 
on  either  by  sulphuric,  nitric,  fluoric,  or  muriatic  acids ;  nor 
when  exposed  to  nitrate  of  potash  liquefied  by  heat.  It  seems 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847 

to  be  soluble  for  the  most  part  in  a  mixture  of  nitric  and 
fluoric  acid,  which  by  analogy  we  may  call  nitro-fluoric  acid ; 
but  after  exposure  for  eighteen  hours  to  this  solvent,  a  small 
proportion  of  a  black  matter  remained  undissolved.  This 
is,  in  all  probability,  carbon  derived  from  the  potassium, 
which,  according  to  Berzelius,  when  obtained  by  Brunner's 
process,  is  liable  to  be  combined  with  carbon.  The  solution 
of  nitro-fluoric  acid,  decanted  from  the  residual  black  powder 
into  a  solution  of  pearlash,  gave  a  copious,  white,  gelatinous 
precipitate  like  silex,  which,  when  thrown  into  a  large  quan- 
tity of  water,  subsided  undissolved.  When  on  subjecting  the 
silicon  to  red  hot  nitrate  of  potash,  anhydrous  carbonate  of 
the  same  alkali  was  added,  so  as  to  co-operate  with  the  nitre, 
an  explosive  effervescence  took  place,  all  the  silicon  disap- 
peared, and  a  compound  resembling  the  silicate  of  potash 
was  produced.  This  anomalous  reaction  may  be  considered 
as  characteristic  of  silicon. 

The  impression  that  the  black  matter  insoluble  in  the 
nitro-fluoric  acid,  was  carbon,  is  confirmed  by  the  fact,  that 
after  the  silicon  had  been  digested  for  some  hours  in  strong 
nitric  acid,  and  finally  boiled  in  it  to  dryness,  it  dissolved  in 
a  nitro-fluoric  acid  without  any  such  residuum." 

In  the  adjoining  bottle  there  is  a  resin.  Hare  called  it 
sassarubrin  and  wrote  the  same  on  the  label  of  the  containing 
vessel.  This  resin  was  obtained  by  the  interaction  of  sul- 
phuric acid  and  oil  of  sassafras.  When  the  resin  is  dropped 
into  concentrated  sulphuric  acid  the  latter  acquires  a  crim- 
son colour.  Hare  expressed  the  thought  that  a  new  series 
of  resins  might  be  evolved  from  the  essential  oils,  by  contact 
with  sulphuric  acid  (1837). 

One  cannot  but  wonder  whether  the  rich  black  ink,  seen 
on  all  the  labels,  was  made  by  Hare  "  by  letting  an  infusion 
of  galls  stand  over  finery  cinder  till  it  was  saturated?  "  He 
represented  the  product  as  most  satisfactory,  in  all  respects — 
"  in  which  there  is  no  free  acid." 


THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

Here  is  a  specimen  of  a  fulminating  powder  which  Hare 
made  as  follows:  an  equivalent  of  lime  was  mixed  with  an 
equivalent  and  one-half  of  "  bycyanide  of  mercury,"  and  the 
mixture  introduced  into  a  porcelain  crucible  placed  in  an 
air-tight  alembic  of  iron  "  so  as  completely  to  exclude  atmos- 
pheric air."  The  whole  was  exposed  to  a  red  heat.  The  resid- 
ual mass  was  dissolved  in  acetic  acid,  the  solution  filtered, 
and  mercurous  nitrate  added  to  the  liquid.  The  precipitate 
was  washed  and  "  when  well  dried  was  found  to  constitute  a 
powder  capable  of  fulminating  by  percussion  (1839) ." 

Look  at  that  splendid  specimen  of  artificial  camphor 
which  Hare  got  in  1839  by  "  impregnating  oil  of  turpentine  " 
with  dry  hydrochloric  acid  gas!  The  pinene  present  in  our 
American  oil  of  turpentine,  when  acted  on  with  the  dry 
gas,  is  responsible  for  this  synthesis. 

And  there  is  a  sample  of  alkanet  in  that  tube.  This  it 
was  that  Hare  suggested  should  be  used  as  an  indicator  in 
alkalimetric  and  acidimetric  determinations  (p.  109). 

The  sample  of  ethyl  perchlorate,  indicated  by  him  as 
present  in  another  vial,  was  made,  you  recall,  by  his  son, 
Clark  Hare  (p.  352)  in  collaboration  with  Martin  Boye. 

Indeed,  on  all  sides  there  are  evidences  preserved  of  the 
activity  of  former  assistants  and  pupils.  Among  these  men 
may  be  mentioned  Franklin  Bache,  who  rendered  frequent 
and  able  service  in  experimental  work  and  often  assisted  in 
Hare's  literary  labors,  for  we  are  reminded  that  he  saw  at 
least  one  edition  of  the  Compendium  through  the  press  when 
Hare  was  absent  in  Europe.  There  was  also  D'Wolf,  pro- 
fessor of  chemistry  in  Brown  University  Medical  School, 
whose  "  knowledge  of  Chemistry  was  acquired  under  the 
celebrated  chemist — Robert  Hare."  Dr.  D'Wolf  is  reported 
to  have  been  a  brilliant  lecturer.  And  George  T.  Bo  wen 
who,  under  Silliman's  direction,  had  studied  the  magnetic 
effects  of  the  calorimotor,  came  to  Philadelphia  to  profit  by 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  213 

Hare's  instruction.  He  completed  the  medical  course  at 
the  same  time.  He  was  also  a  relative  of  Mrs.  Hare.  He 
subsequently  became  professor  of  chemistry  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Tennessee,  Nashville.  Robert  E.  Rogers  was  another 
who,  under  Hare's  inspiration,  executed  some  really  notable 
work  upon  osmosis.  While  Martin  Boye,  a  Swede,  subse- 
quently professor  of  chemistry  in  the  Central  High  School 
of  Philadelphia,  engaged  in  noteworthy  researches  with  Hare 
and  the  latter's  son.  Just  what  Wolcott  Gibbs  did  in  his 
sojourn  in  Hare's  laboratory  is  not  known.  He  must  have 
at  least  received  genuine  inspiration  from  his  great  colleague 
from  which  he  and  others  later  profited  greatly.  And  so, 
many  more  might  be  here  cited  to  show  that  Hare  had  created 
a  genuine  centre  of  chemical  research  and  thought,  to  which 
the  serious-minded  young  scientists  of  the  country  turned 
their  eyes.  The  evidences  of  all  this  are  apparent  in  the 
vast  amount  of  original  material  in  the  way  of  apparatus 
and  preparations  which  was  amassed  in  the  years  of  Hare's 
greatest  activity. 

Having  revelled  among  the  marvellous  collections  in  the 
lecture  room  and  laboratory  and  having  listened  to  words 
from  the  great  investigator,  we  take  our  departure  with  ex- 
pressions of  gratitude  wholly  inadequate  for  the  pleasure 
which  has  been  ours  and  wend  our  way  silently  homewards, 
thinking,  thinking — of  the  great  privilege  which  had  been 
granted  us. 

If  to-day — years,  long  years  afterward — we  should  wish 
to  pay  a  real  visit  to  the  places  we  have  in  imagination  left,  it 
could  not  be  done.  The  buildings  in  which  were  those  won- 
derful collections  have  disappeared.  Even  the  collections 
have  vanished.  All  is  gone.  It  occurred  in  this  manner : 

When  Hare  in  1847  resigned  his  professorship,  the  ap- 
paratus accumulated  by  him  "  was  replaced  by  another  ap- 
paratus belonging  to  my  successor."  Thereupon  Joseph 


£14  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

Henry,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  suggested 
(1848)  that  Hare  should  offer  his  collections  to  that  institu- 
tion, saying: 

"  Several  of  the  articles  belong  to  the  history  of  the  science 
of  our  country  and  would  be  interesting  mementos  of  the 
past  which  should  be  preserved  in  some  public  institution." 

To  which  Hare  replied :  "  that  it  would  be  agreeable  to 
me  to  comply  with  the  proposal,  it  being  understood  that  the 
cost  of  the  removal  of  the  apparatus  and  of  its  being  put  in 
good  order  should  be  defrayed  by  the  Institution,  so  that 
while  on  the  one  hand  I  should  receive  nothing,  on  the  other, 
I  should  not  be  at  any  expense ;  also  that  suitable  apartments 
and  cases  should  be  provided  for  the  keeping  and  using  of  the 
apparatus  for  the  purpose  of  investigation  and  illustration." 
The  Smithsonian  accepted  the  terms.  It  was  left  to  Henry 
to  reject  all  that  might  be  of  no  use  to  the  Institution,  for 
as  Hare  said:  "  Ldid  not  deem  it  proper  that  I  should  de- 
termine how  far  articles,  which  I  had  preserved  under  the 
idea  of  a  contingent  utility,  might  be  worthy  of  the  cost  of 
transportation  and  of  the  space  which  they  would  occupy  in 
the  buildings  of  the  Institution."  The  apparatus  was  packed 
up  in  the  summer  of  1847. 

In  reports  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  it  appears  that 
rooms  were  to  be  set  aside  for  chemical  and  physical  ap- 
paratus ;  "  that  the  room  on  the  east  connected  with  the 
museum  had  been  fitted  up  with  cases  in  which  to  deposit  the 
collection  of  apparatus  presented  by  Dr.  Hare  .  .  .  which 
was  interesting  on  account  of  its  association  with  the  history 
of  the  advance  of  science  in  this  country.  The  collection  con- 
tained most  of  the  articles  invented  by  the  donor,  and  which 
are  described  in  the  scientific  journals  of  the  first  half  of  the 
present  century  (19th).  Among  the  chemical  implements 
were  those  used  by  that  distinguished  chemist,  in  procuring 
for  the  first  time,  without  the  aid  of  galvanism,  calcium,  the 
metallic  basis  of  lime." 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847 

Younger  generations  of  chemists  in  his  own  university 
have  invariably  expressed  the  deepest  regret  that  Hare 
should  have  made  the  preceding  transfer  of  his  scientific 
treasures.  Quite  recently,  when  the  writer  approached  the 
present  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  for  possible  data — let- 
ters and  the  like, — concerning  Hare,  he  was  grieved  to  learn 
that  all  but  a  few  pamphlets  had  perished  in  a  fire  which, 
some  years  ago,  took  place  in  the  museum.  And  thus  was 
sustained  an  irreparable  loss,  regretted  at  this  moment.  No 
wonder  then  that  the  old  Compendium  is  so  precious  to  all 
who  care  to  know  something  of  the  history  of  scientific,  ex- 
perimental endeavor  in  this  country.  Let  us  cherish  it  then 
and  when  in  our  human  conceit  we  fancy  that  only  the  present 
is  worth  the  while,  turn  to  its  pages  and  there  behold  that  in 
many  things  to-day  we  were  anticipated  and  that  our  original 
ideas  were  long  ago  formulated  by  at  least  one  pioneer  of 
science.  To  confirm  this  assertion  hear  what  another  Amer- 
ican chemist — one  who  has  wrought  and  wrought  well, — 
deeply  esteemed  and  honored  at  home  and  abroad, — said  in 
1915: 

"  I  became  interested  in  double  halides  and  published  an 
article  giving  my  views  regarding  the  nature  of  these  com- 
pounds. Soon  after  the  appearance  of  my  article  I  received 
a  letter  from  Dr.  Wolcott  Gibbs  telling  me  that  Robert  Hare 
had  expressed  similar  views  in  1821.  He  sent  me  his  copy 
of  Hare's  Chemistry  and  I  was  astonished  to  read  the  chapter 
that  had  been  written  fifty  or  sixty  years  before  my  article. 
The  line  of  thought  was  practically  identical  with  mine,  and 
it  was  expressed  beautifully.  .  .  .  Hare  was  both  inves- 
tigator and  scientific  philosopher.  IRA  REMSEN." 

And  in  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for 
1849  appeared  this  resolution: 

'  The  following  gentlemen  having  been  recommended 
by  the  Regents  and  officers  of  the  Institution,  and  being  duly 


216  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

considered  by  this  meeting,  were,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Meredith, 
unanimously  elected  honorary  members  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  viz.: 

Dr.  Robert  Hare,  of  Philadelphia, 

Albert  Gallatin,  of  New  York, 

Dr.   Benjamin   Silliman,  of   Connecticut, 

Washington  Irving,  of  New  York." 

Hare,  from  the  words  of  friends,  was  a  congenial  com- 
panion and  while  engrossed  in  the  solution  of  some  of  the 
most  perplexing  problems  of  physical  science,  nevertheless 
took  every  occasion  to  be  present  at  all  social  functions  fre- 
quented by  the  leaders  in  the  various  walks  of  professional, 
civil  and  scientific  life.  Among  others  he  was  an  in- 
terested member  of  the  famous  "  Wistar  Party,"  having  for 
its  members  the  leaders  among  men  in  Philadelphia,  all  of 
whom  were  obliged  as  a  first  requisite  to  be  members  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society. 

The  following  invitation  carefully  indited  upon  a  single 
sheet  of  note  paper,  found  in  the  archives  of  the  Ridgway 
Library,  indicates  Hare's  membership  in  this  organization  of 
genial,  keen,  intelligent  gentlemen: 

Dr  Hare  requests  the  Pleasure 

of  Dr  Rushs  company  on  Saturday 

evg  next 

March  13th  1832 
Wistar  Party 

The  eminent  surgeon,  Samuel  D.  Gross,  wrote  of  Hare: 
"  In  his  old  age  I  used  to  see  him  at  the  Wistar  Parties. 
He  was  a  grand  specimen  of  the  genus  homo,  with  broad 
shoulders  and  an  immense  head.  If  his  brain  had  been  ex- 
amined, its  weight  would  probably  not  have  been  below  that 
of  Cuvier,  Humboldt  or  Webster.  He  read  much,  thought 
much,  talked  much.  Upon  almost  every  subject  he  possessed 
a  fund  of  information  ...  a  man  of  capacious  intellect." 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  217 

In  his  busiest  days  he  found  time  to  dwell  upon  themes 
not  scientific.  For  instance,  in  1834,  he  reverted  to  ideas  he 
had  years  before  set  forth  and  now  expanded  them  in  an 
"  Essay  on  Credit,"  in  the  preface  of  which  appear  these 
very  striking  and  interesting  words: 

"  It  is  well  known  that  the  vocation  of  the  author,  and  his 
predominant  taste  for  the  cultivation  of  science,  are  irrecon- 
cilable with  political  life,"  but  he  was  nevertheless  prevailed 
upon  to  discuss  his  subject  "  to  obviate  financial  objections  to 
the  creation  of  a  Navy,"  and,  therefore,  in  this  second  essay 
he  aimed  to  prove: 

'  That  Credit  is  an  original  medium  of  commercial  inter- 
change, constituting  in  fact  a  species  of  money. 

That  "  paper  credit  "  has  been  erroneously  considered  as 
the  representative  of  gold  and  silver  money,  although  those 
metals,  as  the  only  satisfactory  and  accessible  test  of  paper 
money,  are  to  a  certain  extent  necessary  to  give  it  currency. 

That  while  it  is  true  that  in  this  respect,  and  in  some 
others,  gold  and  silver  may  perform  services  to  which  credit 
is  incompetent,  it  is  equally  demonstrable  that  credit  may 
avail  under  circumstances,  in  which  the  precious  metals  may 
either  be  incompetent,  or  unattainable. 

That  credit  is  especially  the  money  of  the  honest  and  in- 
dustrious, whether  mechanics,  traders,  or  cultivators  of  the 
soil. 

That  Banks  give  an  extension  to  the  credit  of  men  of 
small  capital,  which  enables  them  to  deal  with  persons  to 
whom  their  credit  would  be  unknown,  and  thus  to  acquire 
the  means  of  employing  the  labouring  class. 

That  as  state  banks  are  useful  in  performing  services  to 
which  the  credit  of  individuals  is  incompetent,  so  a  national 
bank  is  advantageous  in  reaching  cases  to  which  state  banks 
are  incompetent. 

That  banks  are  useful  in  supplying  a  more  convenient, 
and  less  expensive  currency  than  coin. 


218  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

That  credit  not  only  enables  the  capital  of  one  part  of 
our  country,  to  promote  the  industry  and  improvement  of 
other  parts,  it  also  enables  us  by  the  sale  of  bank  shares,  or 
certificates  of  state,  or  national,  debt  in  foreign  countries,  to 
enrich  our  country  by  all  the  difference  between  the  profits 
of  the  capital  thus  obtained,  and  the  interest  paid  to  the 
foreign  stockholders. 

That  the  blessings  arising  from  the  great  mean  of  public 
prosperity,  which  forms  the  subject  of  this  essay,  are  depend- 
ent on  the  competency,  supremacy,  and  stability  of  the  laws. 

That  in  this  respect  the  employment  of  credit  as  a  means 
of  commercial  interchange,  has  a  happy  influence  in  associat- 
ing the  pecuniary  interest  of  the  great  mass  of  the  com- 
munity, with  the  cause  of  good  morals,  public  order,  and 
true  liberty." 

In  1837  Hare  was  carried  into  a  discussion — political  in 
character.  He  evidently  had  been  persuaded  by  others,  for 
it  seems  to  have  been  a  period  of  pamphleteering.  Thus  men 
like  J.  Dymond  wrote  "An  Inquiry  Into  the  Accordancy 
of  War  with  the  Principles  of  Christianity,"  and  William  M. 
Gouge,  Albert  Gallatin,  Alexander  Hamilton  and  others 
were  intensely  occupied  with  the  banking  system.  Hare's 
contribution  now  bore  the  title,  "  Suggestions  Respecting 
the  Reformation  of  the  Banking  System."  3  The  document 
was  addressed  to  Mahlon  Dickerson,  Esq.,  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  who  had  expressed  a  wish  to  be  made  acquainted  with 
Hare's  views  on  the  reformation  of  the  currency.  After  in- 
dulging in  preliminary  observations,  Hare  considers  the  three 
principal  functions  of  the  banking  business — the  issue  of  bills, 
loaning  of  money,  and  receiving  and  holding  deposits  sub- 
ject to  order.  These  functions  he  held  were  not  inseparable, 
and  urged  that  they  ought  not  to  be  united.  It  was  a  national 
prerogative  to  issue  bills  or  notes,  while  the  other  functions 

3  Philadelphia,  printed  by  John  C.  Clark,  No.  60  Dock  St. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  219 

were  inherently  a  private  right.  The  hostility  to  banks  was 
in  truth  directed  against  their  issue  of  notes.  He  thought 
that  if  banking  was  a  disease,  then  excision  was  a  too  heroic 
treatment,  something  milder  was  needed.  It  was  inexpedi- 
ent to  restrict  offices  of  discount  and  deposit  if  the  right 
to  issue  bills  was  not  assumed.  The  association  of  the  func- 
tion of  loaning  money  on  personal  security  with  that  of  the 
issuance  of  notes  was  pregnant  with  evil.  It  is  a  national 
duty  to  create  and  support  a  good  and  stable  currency. 
Specie  is  a  proper  measure  of  value,  but  not  an  adequate 
basis  for  a  currency.  Specie  is  an  article  of  merchandise, 
and  liable  to  be  abstracted  in  order  to  restore  the  balance  of 
trade  in  other  articles.  National  credit  is  a  more  secure 
basis.  The  nation,  therefore,  should  guarantee  its  currency. 
In  1791  only  three  banks  existed  to  be  curbed;  now  (1837) 
more  than  seven  hundred  were  to  be  curtailed  in  their  circula- 
tion. State  banks  should  resolve  themselves,  in  their  separate 
capacities,  into  offices  of  discount  and  deposit,  and  associate 
jointly  for  the  guarantee  of  their  bills.  Each  bank  should 
contribute  its  circulation  and  a  proportionable  part  of  its 
capacity,  to  a  trust  fund,  receiving  a  corresponding  amount 
of  joint  bills  or  notes  for  the  value.  The  loaning  of  national 
funds  to  speculators  is  a  source  of  peril  to  the  treasury,  and 
of  demoralization  and  misery  to  the  public. 

These  and  kindred  ideas  were  set  forth  by  Hare  in  rather 
vigorous  style,  marked  with  large  views  and  elevated 
patriotism. 

In  the  third  decade  of  the  19th  Century  chemistry  flour- 
ished in  all  European  countries  to  a  marvelous  degree.  The 
French  and  German  representatives  were  contributing 
largely  to  theory  as  well  as  to  experiment.  Dumas  and  Lie- 
big  were  heard  at  frequent  intervals  on  constitution  of  sub- 
stances, but  the  great  Nestor  of  the  north,  Berzelius,  dom- 
inated the  inorganic  field  at  least,  with  his  electrochemical 


220  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

or  dualistic  theory.  These  theories — these  views — relative  to 
constitution  were  quite  familiar  to  Hare.  He  never  lost  sight 
of  current  literature,  and  pondered  most  thoughtfully  upon 
it.  His  correspondence  with  Berzelius  gave  him  accurate  in- 
formation, illuminated  for  him  the  many  points  of  discussion, 
which  arose  from  time  to  time.  Surely,  then  the  following 
communication  ought  to  be  welcome  to  every  student  of  the 
development  of  chemical  theory.  It  is  a  question  as  to  whether 
any  other  American  chemist  of  that  period,  among  those  who 
were  doing  investigation,  however  primitive,  gave  as  much 
consideration  to  theoretical  subjects  as  did  Hare.  His  letter 
appears  in  full.  At  this  remote  day  it  brings  food  for  thought : 

"My  dear  Silliman:  f^         "  Philada  March  28'h 

I  wrote  to  you  about  a  month  since  enclosing  an  abstract 
from  the  London  &  Edinburg  Philosophical  magazine  and 
journal  to  be  inserted  in  your  American  journal  of  Science. 
Since  then  I  have  not  heard  from  you.  I  send  to  you  by  this 
mail  a  copy  of  my  article  on  the  Berzelian  nomenclature.  It 
was  fully  proved  that  I  should  have  been  wrong  to  send  it 
away  from  here  to  be  printed  for  between  my  own  errors  and 
those  of  the  printers,  I  had  at  least  four  proofs  before  it  was 
made  satisfactory. 

I  found  some  errors  in  the  translation  of  Berzelius's  letter 
12  line  page  6th  which  read  "  as  well  as  those  of  sulphuric 
acid  "  instead  of  as  well  as  sulphuric  acid  or  more  properly 
as  in  copy  now  sent. 

7th  line  same  page  is  altered  to  make  it  begin  a  sentence. 

Line  4  same  page  it  reads  shall  then  have  for. 

There  is  a  change  made  in  the  74th  line  same  page.  There 
are  others  not  very  important. 

I  have  reed  from  Mr  Clarke  a  lot  of  electro  magnetic 
apparatus  which  has  cost  me  about  thirty  dollars.  It  con- 
sists of  Mullin's  battery  and  Rubies  apparatus  by  which  a 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847 

magnet  is  made  to  revolve  with  very  little  power  as  long  as 
the  chemical  reaction  is  sustained  also  an  electripeter  by  which 
the  current  is  reversed  with  great  facility.  A  double  set  of 
Ampers  and  Marshs  rotatory  Cylinders.  Also  another  set 
of  rotatory  apparatus.  If  you  wish  it  I  will  send  you  the 
whole  at  cost  as  I  shall  be  enabled  to  replace  them  before 
my  course  begins. 

I  have  heard  from  my  family  as  late  as  the  sixth  of  Feby 
all  well.  I  expect  to  see  them  before  the  end  of  the  summer. 

We  have  just  finished  our  course  and  examinations  hav- 
ing passed  about  145  in  all — 

Please  to  send  me  by  mail  a  copy  of  whatever  you  print 
of  mine  or  affecting  me  as  soon  as  possible  after  it  is  struck 
off—  Faithfully 

Your  fd 

ROB'  HARE" 

"  My  dear  Silliman,       ,  £      "  Philadelphia,  June,  1834. 

I  have  already  apprized  you,  that  last  year  I  had  the 
honour  to  receive  from  the  celebrated  Berzelius,  six  volumes 
of  his  admirable  treatise  of  Chemistry;  to  which,  during  the 
last  summer,  I  gave  much  time,  in  order  to  avail  myself  of 
the  vast  fund  of  useful  practical  knowledge  which  it  contains. 
I  am  of  opinion  that  to  adepts  in  the  science,  this  treatise  is 
the  most  interesting  and  instructive  compilation  of  chemical 
knowledge  which  has  ever  issued  from  the  press.  It  com- 
prises much  matter  for  which  Chemistry  is  indebted  entirely 
to  the  genius,  skill,  and  industry  of  the  author,  while  scarcely 
any  subject  in  it  is  so  treated,  as  not  to  create  a  renovated 
interest  in  the  reader,  however  previously  familiar  with  the 
science. 

Sweden  may  with  reason  be  proud  of  her  Scheele,  her 
Bergman,  and  her  Berzelius.  The  last,  but  not  the  least,  of 
these  great  chemists,  aided  by  an  Herculean  intellect,  and 


222  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

commencing  at  the  point  at  which  his  predecessors  terminated 
their  glorious  career,  may  be  considered  as  possessing  attain- 
ments which  have  never  been  excelled.  Yet  the  sun  is  not 
without  spots,  nor  is  Berzelius  without  errors;  unless  indeed, 
those  which  I  have  ascribed  to  him,  are  phantoms  of  my  own 
intellectual  vision. 

I  concur  with  those  chemists  who  consider  the  relation 
ascertained  by  Berzelius,  between  the  quantities  of  oxygen 
in  oxybases,  and  in  oxacids,  as  a  necessary  consequence  of 
the  laws  of  combination,  on  which  the  Daltonian  theory  has 
been  founded.  I  conceive  also  that  the  interesting  facts 
which  demonstrate  the  existence  of  the  relation  alluded  to, 
would  be  more  easily  understood  and  remembered,  if  re- 
ferred to  the  theory  of  atoms,  than  when  made  the  basis  of 
his  doctrine  of  capacities  for  saturation,  and  of  the  numbers 
by  which  those  capacities  are  expressed. 

Moreover,  I  do  not  approve  of  his  nomenclature.  This 
is  a  subject  highly  interesting  to  me  at  this  time.  The  last 
edition  of  my  text  book  is  exhausted,  and  in  publishing  a  new 
edition  I  shall  be  obliged  either  to  adopt  the  nomenclature  of 
Berzelius,  or  to  adhere  to  that  now  generally  used,  with  such 
improvements  as  may  seem  to  me  consistent  with  its  principles. 

I  will  proceed  to  state  my  objections  to  the  Berzelian 
nomenclature,  and  to  suggest  the  language  which  I  would 
prefer.  I  should  be  glad  if  the  promulgation  of  my  opinions 
should  call  forth  remarks,  which  may  enable  me  to  correct, 
in  due  season,  any  errors  into  which  I  may  have  fallen.  I 
regret  the  necessity  of  making  a  final  election,  before  sub- 
mitting my  objections  to  Berzelius  himself,  whose  disappro- 
bation it  would  grieve  me  much  to  incur. 

My  apology  will  be  found  in  the  adage — "  Amicus  Plato 
sed  magis  arnica  veritas."  Besides,  if  my  opinions  are  in- 
correct, they  will  only  react  upon  their  author.  The  pro- 
ductions of  Berzelius  stand  deservedly  too  high  in  public 
favour  to  be  reached  by  ill  founded  criticism. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  223 

The  most  striking  feature  in  the  nomenclature  of  Ber- 
zelius,  is  the  formation  of  two  classes  of  bodies;  one  class 
called  "  halogene,"  or  salt  producing,  because  they  are  con- 
ceived to  produce  salts  directly;  the  other  called  "  amphi- 
gene,"  or  both  producing,  being  productive  both  of  acids 
and  bases,  and  of  course  indirectly  of  salts.  To  render  this 
division  eligible,  it  appears  to  me  that  the  terms  acid,  base, 
and  salt,  should,  in  the  first  place,  be  strictly  defined.  Un- 
fortunately, there  are  no  terms  in  use,  more  broad,  vague, 
and  unsettled  in  their  meaning.  Agreeably  to  the  common 
acceptation,  chloride  of  sodium  is  pre-eminently  entitled  to 
be  called  a  salt;  since  in  common  parlance,  when  no  dis- 
tinguishing term  is  annexed,  salt  is  the  name  of  that  chloride. 
This  is  quite  reasonable,  as  it  is  well  known  that  it  was  from 
this  compound,  that  the  genus  received  its  name.  Other  sub- 
stances, having  in  their  obvious  qualities  some  analogy  with 
chloride  of  sodium,  were,  at  an  early  period,  readily  ad- 
mitted to  be  species  of  the  same  genus:  as,  for  instance, 
Glauber's  salt,  Epsom  salt,  sal  ammoniac.  Yet  founding 
their  pretensions  upon  similitude  in  obvious  qualities,  few 
of  the  substances  called  salts,  in  the  broader  sense  of  the 
name,  could  have  been  admitted  into  the  class.  Insoluble 
chlorides  have  evidently,  on  the  score  of  properties,  as  little 
claim  to  be  considered  as  salts,  as  insoluble  oxides.  Luna 
Cornea,  plumbum  corneum,  butter  of  antimony,  and  the 
fuming  liquor  of  Libavius,  are  the  appellations  given  respec- 
tively to  chlorides  of  silver,  lead,  antimony,  and  tin,  which 
are  quite  as  deficient  of  the  saline  character  as  the  corre- 
sponding compounds  of  the  same  metal  with  oxygen.  Fluo- 
ride of  calcium  (fluor  spar)  is  as  unlike  a  salt  as  lime,  the 
oxide  of  the  same  metal.  No  saline  quality  can  be  perceived 
in  the  soluble  "  haloid  salts,"  so  called  by  Berzelius,  while 
free  from  water;  and  when  a  compound  of  this  kind  is  mois- 
tened, even  by  contact  with  the  tongue,  it  may  be  considered 


224  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

as  a  salt  formed  of  an  hydracid  and  an  oxybase,  produced 
by  a  union  of  the  hydrogen  of  the  water  with  the  halogene 
element,  and  of  the  oxygen  with  the  radical.  It  is  admitted 
by  Berzelius,  vol.  3,  page  330,  that  it  cannot  be  demonstrated 
that  the  elements  of  the  water,  and  those  of  an  haloid  salt, 
dissolved  in  that  liquid,  do  not  exist  in  the  state  of  an  hydracid 
and  an  oxybase,  forming  a  salt  by  their  obvious  union. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  instead  of  qualities,  we  resort  to 
composition  as  the  criterion  of  a  salt;  if,  as  in  some  of  the 
most  respectable  chemical  treatises,  we  assume  that  the  word 
salt  is  to  be  employed  only  to  designate  compounds  consist- 
ing of  a  base  united  with  an  acid,  we  exclude  from  the  class 
chloride  of  sodium,  and  all  other  "  haloid  salts,"  and  thus 
overset  the  basis  of  the  distinction  between  "  halogene  "  and 
"  amphigene  "  elements. 

Moreover,  while  thus  excluding  from  the  class  of  salts, 
substances  which  the  mass  of  mankind  will  still  consider  as 
belonging  to  it,  we  assemble  under  one  name  combinations 
opposite  in  their  properties,  and  destitute  of  the  qualities 
usually  deemed  indispensable  to  the  class.  Thus  under  the 
definition  that  every  compound  of  an  acid  and  a  base,  is  a 
salt,  we  must  attach  this  name  to  marble,  gypsum,  felspar, 
glass,  and  porcelain,  in  common  with  Epsom  salt,  Glauber's 
salt,  vitriolated  tartar,  pearlash,  &c.  But  admitting  that  these 
objections  are  not  sufficient  to  demonstrate  the  absurdity  of 
defining  a  salt,  as  a  compound  of  an  acid  and  a  base,  of  what 
use  could  such  a  definition  be,  when,  as  I  have  premised,  it  is 
quite  uncertain  what  is  an  acid,  or  what  is  a  base.  To  the 
word  acid,  different  meanings  have  been  attached  at  differ- 
ent periods.  The  original  characteristic  sourness,  is  no  longer 
deemed  essential!  Nor  is  the  effect  upon  vegetable  colours 
treated  as  an  indispensable  characteristic.  And  as  respects  ob- 
vious properties,  can  there  be  a  greater  discordancy,  than  that 
which  exists  between  sulphuric  acid,  and  rock  crystal ;  between 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  225 

vinegar,  and  tannin;  or  between  the  volatile,  odoriferous, 
liquid,  poison,  which  we  call  prussic  acid,  and  the  inodorous, 
inert,  concrete,  material  for  candles  called  margaric  acid? 

While  an  acid  is  defined  to  be  a  compound  capable  of 
forming  a  salt  with  a  base,  a  base  is  defined  to  be  a  com- 
pound, that  will  form  a  salt  with  an  acid.  Yet  a  salt  is  to  be 
recognized  as  such,  by  being  a  compound  of  the  acid  and 
base,  of  which,  as  I  have  stated,  it  is  made  an  essential  mean 
of  recognition. 

An  attempt  to  reconcile  the  definitions  of  acidity  given 
by  Berzelius,  with  the  sense  in  which  he  uses  the  word  acid, 
will  in  my  apprehension,  increase  the  perplexity. 

It  is  alleged  in  his  Treatise,  p.  1,  Vol.  II,  "  That  the 
name  of  acid  is  given  to  silica,  and  other  feeble  acids,  because 
they  are  susceptible  of  combining  with  the  oxides  of  the  elec- 
tropositive metals,  that  is  to  say,  with  salifiable  bases,  and 
thus  to  produce  salts,  which  is  precisely  the  principal  char- 
acter of  acids."  Again,  Vol.  I,  page  308,  speaking  of  the 
halogene  elements,  he  declares  that  "  Their  combinations  with 
hydrogen,  are  not  only  acids,  but  belong  to  a  series  the  most 
puissant  that  we  can  employ  in  Chemistry ;  and  in  this  respect 
they  rank  as  equals  with  the  strongest  of  the  acids,  into  which 
oxygen  enters  as  a  constituent  principle."  And  again,  Vol. 
II,  page  162,  when  treating  of  hydracids  formed  with  the 
halogene  class,  he  alleges,  "  The  former  are  very  powerful 
acids,  truly  acids,  and  perfectly  like  the  oxacids;  but  they 
do  not  combine  with  salifiable  bases;  on  the  contrary,  they 
decompose  them,  and  produce  haloid  salts." 

In  this  paragraph,  the  acids  in  question  are  represented 
as  pre-eminently  endowed  with  the  attributes  of  acidity,  while 
at  the  same  time  they  are  alleged  to  be  destitute  of  his  "  prin- 
cipal character  of  acids,"  the  property  of  combining  with 
salifiable  bases. 

In  page  41  (same  volume),  treating  of  the  acid  consist- 

15 


226  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

ing  of  two  volumes  of  oxygen  and  one  of  nitrogen,  considered 
by  chemists  generally  as  a  distinct  acid,  Berzelius  uses  the 
following  language:  "  If  I  have  not  coincided  in  their  view,  it 
is  because,  judging  by  what  we  know  at  present,  the  acid 
in  question  cannot  combine  with  any  base,  either  directly  or 
indirectly,  that  consequently  it  does  not  give  salts,  and  that 
salifiable  bases  decompose  it  always  into  nitrous  acid,  and 
nitric  oxide  gas.  It  is  not  then  a  distinct  acid,  and  as  such 
ought  not  to,  be  admitted  in  the  nomenclature."  Viewing  these 
passages  with  all  that  deference  which  I  feel  for  the  produc- 
tions of  the  author,  I  am  unable  to  understand  upon  what  prin- 
ciple the  exclusion  of  nitrous  acid  from  the  class  of  acids,  can 
be  rendered  consistent  with  the  retention,  in  that  class,  of  the 
compounds  formed  by  hydrogen  with  "  halogene  "  elements. 
Having  thus  endeavored  to  show  that  the  words  acid,  salt, 
and  base,  have  not  been  so  defined  as  to  justify  their  em- 
ployment as  a  basis  of  the  Berzelian  nomenclature  I  will  with 
great  deference  proceed  to  state  my  objections  to  the  super- 
structure, erected  upon  this  questionable  foundation.  Con- 
sistently with  the  French  nomenclature,  the  combinations 
formed  by  electro-negative  principles,  with  other  elements, 
have  been  distinguished  as  acids,  or  characterized  by  a  ter- 
mination in  "  ide  "  or  in  "  ure  "  which  last  monosyllable, 
when  there  has  been  no  intention  of  altering  the  meaning, 
has,  by  the  British  chemists,  been  translated  into  uret.  The 
termination  in  ide,  which  is  common  in  both  languages,  is, 
by  Thenard,  and  other  eminent  French  authors,  restricted 
to  the  binary  compounds  of  oxygen,  which  are  not  acid.  An- 
alogous compounds  formed  with  the  "  halogene  "  elements, 
chlorine,  bromine,  fluorine,  iodine,  cyanogen,  &c.,  have  by 
the  same  writer  been  designated  by  the  termination  in  ure. 
Thus  we  have  in  his  work,  chlorures,  bromures,  fluorures, 
iodures,  cyanures.  Some  of  the  most  eminent  chemists  in 
Great  Britain,  have  distinguished  the  elements  called  halo- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  227 

gene,  by  Berzelius,  together  with  oxygen,  as  supporters  of 
combustion ;  and  have  designated  the  binary  compounds  made 
with  them,  when  not  acid,  by  the  same  termination  as  the 
analogous  compounds  of  oxygen.  Accordingly  in  their 
writings,  instead  of  the  names  above  mentioned,  we  have  chlo- 
rides, bromides,  fluorides,  iodides.  In  Henry's  Chemistry, 
cyanure  is  represented  by  cyanide,  in  Thomson's,  by  cyano- 
dide,  and  in  Brande's  and  Turner's  by  cyanuret. 

The  term  uret,  equivalent  as  above  mentioned  to  the 
French  ure,  is  restricted  by  the  English  chemists  to  the  com- 
pounds formed  by  non-metallic  combustibles,  either  with  each 
other,  or  with  metals.  Hence  we  have  in  English,  sulphurets, 
phosphurets,  carburets,  borurets,  for  sulphures,  phosphures, 
carbures,  borures,  in  French. 

Berzelius  classes  as  electronegative,  all  those  substances 
which  go  to  the  positive  pole  when  isolated,  or  when  in  union 
with  oxygen,  while  all  substances  are  by  him  treated  as  elec- 
tropositive which  go  to  the  negative  pole,  either  when  isolated, 
or  when  in  union  with  oxygen.4 

According  to  his  nomenclature,  when  both  the  ingredients 
in  a  binary  compound  belong  to  the  class  of  bodies  by  him 
designated  as  electronegative,  the  termination  in  ide,  is  to  be 
applied  to  the  more  electronegative  ingredient;  but  where 

4  The  term  isolated,  is  employed  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  state  in 
which  the  elements  of  water  are,  when  after  having  been  separated 
by  the  voltaic  wires,  they  are  severally  on  their  way  to  their  appro- 
priate poles,  that  is,  the  oxygen  proceeding  to  the  positive  pole,  and 
the  hydrogen  to  the  negative  pole.  Each  element  is  in  that  case 
isolated,  and  obedient  to  the  attractive  influence  of  one  of  the  poles. 
When  a  salt  containing  an  oxacid  and  an  oxybase,  is  decomposed,  the 
acid  will  go  to  the  positive  and  the  base  to  the  negative  pole.  The 
radical  of  the  acid,  in  consequence  of  its  not  counteracting  the  pro- 
pensity of  the  oxygen  for  the  positive  pole,  is  deemed  electronegative ; 
while  the  radical  of  the  base  overcoming  that  propensity  is  deemed 
electropositive. 


228  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

one  of  the  ingredients  belongs  to  his  list  of  electropositive 
bodies,  the  termination  in  ure  (uret,  in  English),  is  to  be 
applied  to  the  electronegative  ingredient.  As,  agreeably  to 
the  prevailing  nomenclature,  which  in  this  respect,  the  great 
Swedish  chemist  has  not  deemed  it  expedient  to  change,  the 
electropositive  compounds  of  oxygen  with  radicals,  forming 
electropositive  bases,  have  each  a  termination  in  ide,  it  seems 
that  consistence  requires  us,  conformably  with  the  English 
practice,  to  designate  in  like  manner  analogous  electroposi- 
tive compounds  of  the  electronegative  elements  called  by  him 
"  halogene."  But  especially  it  would  be  inconsistent  not  to 
put  the  same  mark  upon  the  compounds  of  substances  which 
from  their  analogy  with  oxygen  are  placed  in  the  same  "  am- 
phigene  "  class.  If  there  were  insuperable  reasons  for  re- 
taining the  term  oxide,  as  a  generic  name  for  the  electro- 
positive compounds  of  oxygen,  it  seems  to  me  inexpedient 
not  to  employ  the  words  sulphide,  selenide,  and  telluride, 
to  designate  the  electropositive  compounds  of  sulphur,  selen- 
ium, and  tellurium.  And  since  the  three  last  mentioned 
elements  when  united  with  hydrogen,  form  electronegative 
compounds  which  act  as  acids,  why  not  treat  them  as  such, 
under  appellations  corresponding  with  those  heretofore  used 
for  that  purpose?  I  conceive  the  following  definitions  to  be 
justified  by  the  practice  of  modern  chemists  in  general,  as 
established  in  the  case  of  oxacids,  and  oxybases.  When  two 
compounds  capable  of  combining  with  each  other  to  form  a 
tertium  quid,  have  an  ingredient  common  to  both,  and  one 
of  the  compounds  prefers  the  positive,  the  other  the  negative 
pole  of  the  voltaic  series,  we  must  deem  the  former  an  acid, 
and  the  latter  a  base.  And  again,  all  compounds  having  a 
sour  taste,  or  which  redden  litmus,  should  be  deemed  acids 
in  obedience  to  usage. 

I  should  think  it  preferable,  if  in  adopting  these  defini- 
tions, the  termination  in  ide  was  considered  as  applicable  to 


SECOND  PERIOD,  181&-1847  229 

all  compounds  of  electronegative  principles  with  other  sub- 
stances, whether  producing  electronegative  or  electropositive 
combinations,  and  that  the  terms  acid,  and  base,  should  be 
considered  as  severally  indicating  the  subordinate  electro- 
negative and  electropositive  compounds.  In  that  case  oxy- 
base,  chloribase,  fluobase,  bromibase,  iodobase,  cyanobase, 
sulphobase,  telluribase,  selenibase,  would  stand  in  opposition 
to  oxacid,  chloracid,  fluacid,  bromacid,  iodacid,  cyanacid,  sul- 
phacid,  selenacid,  telluracid;  yet  for  convenience,  the  generic 
termination  ide  might  be  used  without  any  misunderstanding; 
and  so  far,  the  prevailing  practice  might  remain  unchanged. 
Resort  to  either  appellation  would  not,  agreeably  to  custom, 
be  necessary  in  speaking  of  salts  or  other  compounds  anal- 
ogous to  them;  since  it  is  deemed  sufficient  to  mention  the 
radical  as  if  it  existed  in  the  compound  in  its  metallic  state. 
Ordinarily  we  say,  sulphate  of  lead,  not  sulphate  of  the  oxide 
of  lead.  This  last  mentioned  expression  is  resorted  to,  only 
where  great  precision  is  desirable.  In  such  cases,  it  might 
be  better  to  say  sulphate  of  the  oxybase  of  lead.  So  long 
however  as  the  electronegative  combinations  of  oxygen  are 
designated  as  oxacids,  and  the  electropositive  as  oxides,  it 
seems  to  be  incorrect,  not  to  use  analogical  terms  in  the  case 
of  analogous  compounds,  formed  by  the  other  pre-eminently 
electronegative  principles  and  assuming  the  definition  above 
stated,  to  be  justified  by  modern  practice,  it  follows  that  in 
order  to  entitle  the  electronegative  and  electropositive  in- 
gredients of  the  double  salts  of  Berzelius,  to  be  classed,  the 
latter  as  bases,  and  the  former  as  acids,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  appeal  to  the  highly  interesting  and  important  experi- 
ments of  Bonsdorf,  confirmed  in  some  instances  by  the  testi- 
mony of  Berzelius  himself,  proving  that  the  attributes  of 
acidity  (as  heretofore  defined)  exist  in  the  one  case,  and 
those  of  alkalinity  in  the  other.  My  definition  is  founded 
upon  the  conviction  that  these  characteristics  have  not  lat- 


230  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

terly  been  deemed  necessary  to  acids,  and  that  in  bases  they 
never  were  required ;  having,  as  respects  them,  only  served  as  a 
means  of  subdivision,  between  alkaline  oxides  and  other  bases. 

Chemistry  owes  to  Berzelius  much  valuable  information 
respecting  the  compounds  formed  by  the  substances  which 
he  calls  "  halogene  ";  especially  respecting  the  combinations 
formed  by  fluorine,  with  boron,  and  silicon,  and  the  "  double 
salts,"  as  he  considers  them,  formed  by  the  union  of  two 
"halogene  salts,"  &c.  While  in  the  highest  degree  inter- 
ested in  the  facts  which  he  has  ascertained,  it  will  be  inferred 
from  the  premises,  that  I  do  not  perceive  that  any  adequate 
line  of  distinction  can  be  drawn  in  this  respect  between  the 
simple  salts  formed  by  oxacids  and  oxybases ;  and  the  double 
salts  formed  by  his  "  halogene  "  elements. — Agreeably  to 
the  definition  which  I  have  ventured  to  propose,  in  a  com- 
bination of  this  kind,  the  electronegative  salt  would  play  the 
part  of  an  acid,  while  the  electropositive  salt  would  perform 
that  of  a  base. 

In  common  with  other  eminent  chemists,  he  has  distin- 
guished acids  in  which  oxygen  is  the  electronegative  prin- 
ciple, as  oxacids,  and  those  in  which  hydrogen  is  a  prominent 
ingredient  as  hydracids.  If  we  look  for  the  word  radical,  in 
the  table  of  contents  of  his  invaluable  Treatise,  we  are  re- 
ferred to  p.  218,  vol.  I,  where  we  find  the  following  definition, 
"  the  combustible  body  contained  in  an  acid,  or  in  a  salifiable 
base,  is  called  the  radical  of  the  acid,  or  of  the  base."  In  the 
second  vol.,  page  163,  he  defines  hydracids  to  be  "  those  acids, 
which  contain  an  electronegative  body,  combined  with  hy- 
drogen " ;  and  in  the  next  page  it  is  stated,  that  "  hydracids 
are  divided  into  those  which  have  a  simple  radical,  and  those 
which  have  a  compound  radical.  The  second  only  com- 
prises those  formed  with  cyanogen  and  sulphocyanogen." 
Again,  in  the  next  paragraph,  "  no  radical  is  known  that 
gives  more  than  one  acid  with  hydrogen,  although  sulphur  and 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  231 

iodine,  are  capable  of  combining  with  it  in  many  proportions. 
If  at  any  future  day  more  numerous  degrees  of  acidification 
with  hydrogen,  should  be  discovered,  their  denomination 
might  be  founded  on  the  same  principles  as  those  of  oxacids." 

Consistently  with  these  quotations,  all  the  electronegative 
elements  forming  acids  with  hydrogen,  are  radicals,  and  of 
course  by  his  own  definition,  combustibles;  while  hydrogen 
is  made  to  rank  with  oxygen  as  an  acidifying  principle,  and 
consequently  is  neither  a  radical  nor  a  combustible.  Yet 
page  189,  vol.  II,  in  explaining  the  reaction  of  fluoboric 
acid  with  water,  in  which  case  fluorine  unites  both  with  hy- 
drogen and  boron,  it  is  mentioned  as  one  instance  among 
others  in  which  fluorine  combines  with  two  combustibles. 

I  am  of  opinion  that  the  employment  of  the  word  hy- 
dracid,  as  co-ordinate  with  oxacid,  must  tend  to  convey  that 
erroneous  idea,  with  which,  in  opposition  to  his  own  defini- 
tion, the  author  seems  to  have  been  imbued,  that  hydrogen 
in  the  one  class,  plays  the  same  part  as  oxygen  in  the  other. 
But  in  reality,  the  former  is  eminently  a  combustible,  and 
of  course  the  radical,  by  his  own  definition. 

Dr.  Thomson,  in  his  system,  does  not  recognize  any  class 
of  acids,  under  the  appellation  of  hydracids ;  but  with  greater 
propriety,  as  I  conceive,  places  them  under  names  indicating 
their  electronegative  principles.  Thus  he  arranges  them  as 
oxygen  acids,  chlorine  acids,  bromine  acids,  iodine  acids,  flu- 
orine acids,  cyanogen  acids,  sulphur  acids,  selenium  acids,  and 
tellurium  acids.*  Those  appellations  might,  I  think,  be  advan- 
tageously abbreviated  into  oxacids,  chloracids,  fluacids,  brom- 
acids,  iodacids,  cyanacids,  sulphacids,  selenacids,  telluracids. 

As  respects  the  acids  individually,  I  conceive  that  it  would 
be  preferable,  if  the  syllable  indicating  the  more  electronega- 
tive element  had  precedency  in  all,  as  it  has  in  some  cases. 

*  I  had  formed  my  opinions  on  this  subject,  before  I  was  aware 
that  Dr.  Thomson  had  resorted  to  this  classification. 


232  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

The  word  hydrofluoric  does  not  harmonize  with  fluoborie, 
fluosilicic,  fluochromic,  fluomolybdic,  &c.  Fluorine  being  in 
each  compound  the  electronegative  principle,  the  syllables 
indicating  its  presence,  should  in  each  name  occupy  the  same 
station.  These  remarks  will  apply,  in  the  case  of  acids 
formed  with  hydrogen,  to  all  principles  which  are  more  elec- 
tronegative. Hence  we  should  use  the  terms  chlorohydric, 
fluohydric,  bromohydric,  iodohydric,  cyanhydric,  instead  of 
hydrochloric,  hydrofluoric,  hydrobromic,  hydriodic,  hydro- 
cyanic. 

These  opinions,  conceived  last  summer,  were  published  by 
me  in  the  Journal  of  Pharmacy  for  October  last.  Since  then, 
I  find  that  in  the  late  edition  of  his  Traite,  Thenard  has 
actually  employed  the  appellations  above  recommended. 

As  by  the  British  chemists  the  objectionable  words  have 
not  been  definitely  adopted;  the  appellations  muriatic  and 
prussic,  being  still  much  employed,  it  may  not  be  inconven- 
ient to  them  to  introduce  those  which  are  recommended  by 
consistency.  In  accordance  with  the  premises,  the  acids 
formed  with  hydrogen  by  sulphur,  selenium,  and  tellurium, 
would  be  called  severally  sulphydric,  selenhydric,  and  tellu- 
hydric  acid.  Compounds  formed  by  the  union  of  the  acids 
thus  designated,  with  the  bases  severally  generated  by  the 
same  electronegative  principles,  would  be  called  sulphydrates, 
selenhydrates,  and  telluhydrates,  which  are  the  names  given 
to  these  compounds  in  the  Berzelian  nomenclature.  Influ- 
enced by  the  analogy,  a  student  would  expect  the  electro- 
negative ingredient  of  a  sulphydrate  to  be  sulphydric  acid, 
not  a  sulphide.  The  terminating  syllable  of  this  word,  by  its 
associations,  can  only  convey  the  conception  of  an  electro- 
positive compound. 

By  adhering  to  the  plan  of  designating  each  acid  by  its 
most  electronegative  ingredient,  the  compounds  of  hydrogen 
and  silicon,  or  of  hydrogen  and  boron  with  fluorine,  would 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  233 

appear  in  a  much  more  consistent  dress.  In  the  compound 
named  hydrofluoboric  acid,  and  that  named  hydrofluosilicic 
acid  by  Berzelius,  fluorine  is  represented  as  acting  as  a  radical 
with  hydrogen,  while  with  boron  and  silicon  it  acts  as  the 
electronegative  principle.  It  has  been  shown  that  hydrogen, 
no  less  than  boron  and  silicon,  must  be  considered  as  a  com- 
bustible, and  of  course  a  radical.  This  being  admitted,  if  the 
compounds  in  question  are  really  entitled  to  be  considered  as 
distinct  acids,  their  names  should  respectively  be  fluohy- 
droboric,  or  fluohydrosilicic  acid.  But  as  I  have  elsewhere 
observed  an  incapacity  to  combine  with  bases,  or  to  react  with 
them  without  decomposition,  is  made  by  Berzelius  an  ade- 
quate reason  for  expunging  the  compound  formed  by  one 
atom  of  nitrogen  with  four  atoms  of  oxygen  from  the  list 
of  the  acids  of  nitrogen ;  I  do  not,  therefore,  understand  how 
the  compounds  referred  to,  while  equally  incapable  of  com- 
bination, can  be  considered  by  him  as  acids.  At  first  it  struck 
me  that  the  liquids  consisting  of  fluohydric  acid,  either  with 
fluoboric  acid,  or  with  fluosilicic  acid,  might  be  considered  as 
merely  united  by  their  common  attraction  to  water,  since 
they  separate  when  this  liquid  is  abstracted  by  evaporation. 
Upon  reflection,  however,  I  retract  that  opinion,  since  it  ap- 
pears to  me  that  if  the  compounds  in  question  are  to  be  con- 
sidered as  acids,  they  may  be  viewed  satisfactorily  as  fluacids 
with  a  double  radical ;  but  I  deem  it  more  consistent  to  sup- 
pose that  a  fluobase  of  hydrogen  in  the  one  case  united  with 
fluoboric  acid,  in  the  other,  with  fluosilicic  acid ;  so  that  fluo- 
hydroboric  acid  might  be  called  fluoborate  of  the  fluobase  of 
hydrogen,  or  more  briefly  fluoborate  of  hydrogen ;  and  in  like 
manner  fluohydrosilicic  acid  would  be  called  fluosilicate  of 
the  fluobase  of  hydrogen,  or  briefly  fluosilicate  of  hydrogen. 
There  are  instances  in  which  compounds,  usually  called 
bases,  act  as  acids.  Of  course  it  is  consistent  that  compounds, 
usually  called  acids,  should  in  some  instances  act  as  bases. 


234  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

In  this  respect  a  striking  analogy  may  be  observed  between 
the  union  of  the  oxide  of  hydrogen  (water)  with  the  oxacids 
and  oxybases ;  and  that  of  fluoride  of  hydrogen  with  fluacids 
and  fluobases.  According  to  Berzelius,  water,  in  the  first 
case,  acts  as  a  base,  in  the  second  as  an  acid.  So  I  conceive 
the  fluoride  of  hydrogen  acts  as  a  base  in  the  cases  above 
noticed,  while  it  acts  as  an  acid  in  the  compound  of  hydrogen, 
fluorine,  and  potassium,  called  by  Berzelius  "  fluorure  potas- 
sique  acide."  This  compound  I  would  call  a  fluohydrate  of 
the  fluobase  of  potassium,  or  more  briefly  fluohydrate  of 
potassium,  as  we  say  sulphate  of  copper,  instead  of  the  sul- 
phate of  the  oxide  (or  oxybase)  of  copper.  It  appears  from 
the  inquiries  of  the  author  of  the  nomenclature  under  con- 
sideration, that  each  of  the  three  acids  above  mentioned  as 
formed  by  fluorine,  with  the  three  different  radicals,  hydro- 
gen, boron,  and  silicon,  is  capable  with  electropositive  metal- 
lic fluorides,  of  forming  the  compounds  treated  of  by  him 
as  double  salts.  These  compounds,  to  which  I  have  already 
alluded,  might  be  called  fluohydrates,  fluoborates,  or  fluosili- 
cates  of  the  metallic  ingredient.  As  for  instance,  the  com- 
pound into  which  potassium  enters,  named  by  him  "  fluorure 
borico  potassique,"  I  would  designate  as  a  fluoborate  of  the 
fluoride  (or  fluobase)  of  potassium,  or  for  the  sake  of  brevity, 
fluoborate  of  potassium.  "  Flourure  silico-potassique  "  would 
by  the  same  rule,  be  called  fluosilicate  of  potassium. 

The  illustration  thus  given  in  the  instance  of  potassium, 
renders  it  unnecessary  to  furnish  other  examples,  as  it  would 
only  require  that  the  name  of  any  other  metal  should  be  sub- 
stituted for  that  of  potassium,  in  order  to  modify  these  appel- 
lations, so  as  to  suit  every  case. 

Pursuant  to  my  fundamental  definition,  ferroprussiate 
of  potash,  cyanure  ferroso  potassique  in  the  Berzelian  no- 
menclature, should  be  considered  as  a  compound  of  cyano- 
ferric  acid,  and  a  cyanide  or  cyanobase  of  potassium  and 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  235 

would  of  consequence  be  a  cyanoferrate  of  potassium.  Or  if 
the  iron  be  in  two  different  degrees  united  with  cyanogen, 
as  the  names  cyanure  ferroso  potassique,  and  cyanure  fer- 
rico  potassique  indicate,  we  should  have  both  a  cyanoferrite 
and  a  cyanoferrate  of  potassium ;  and  of  course  cyanof errous 
and  cyanof erric  acid  for  their  respective  electronegative  in- 
gredients. "  Cyanure  ferrique  acide  "  would  be  exchanged 
for  cyanoferrate  of  hydrogen,  being  a  case  analogous  to  that 
of  the  "  fluorure  potassique  acide  "  above  considered  and 
provided  for. 

If  I  am  justified  in  my  impression  above  stated,  water, 
and  the  compound  formed  by  fluorine  with  hydrogen  ("  hy- 
drofluoric acid  "  or  fluohydric  acid  as  I  prefer  to  call  it) 
should  be  severally  designated  as  acids  when  they  act  as 
acids;  as  bases,  when  they  act  as  bases.  In  other  cases  the 
one  might  be  designated  as  an  oxide,  the  other  as  a  fluoride 
of  hydrogen.  In  the  case  of  a  compound  so  well  known  as 
water,  I  would  adhere  to  the  common  name,  resorting  to  the 
scientific  names  only  as  definitions.  Thus  water  would  be 
defined  as  an  oxide  of  hydrogen,  which  in  some  combinations, 
acts  as  an  oxybase  of  hydrogen,  in  others  as  hydric  acid,  or 
the  oxacid  of  hydrogen.5 

After  designating  as  metalloids  all  non-metallic  bodies, 
Berzelius  alleges  (page  203,  vol.  1st)  that  they  are  divided 
into  oxygen,  and  bodies  which  are  combustible,  or  susceptible 
of  combining  with  oxygen ;  in  which  process  the  greater  part 
display  the  ordinary  .  .  .  phenomena  of  combustion,  or, 
in  other  words,  of  fire.  Agreeably  to  this  classification,  sus- 
ceptibility of  union  with  oxygen  and  combustibility  are  con- 

5  The  use  which  I  have  made  of  the  terminations  in  ide,  in  fluoride 
of  hydrogen,  or  oxide  of  hydrogen,  to  signify  a  compound  of  hydro- 
gen with  fluorine,  or  oxygen  generally,  without  conveying  the  idea 
of  its  being  either  a  base  or  an  acid,  illustrates  the  advantage  which 
would  result  from  the  use  of  that  termination  in  that  broad  sense. 


336  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

founded;  to  which  I  object,  because  oxidizement  frequently 
ensues  without  combustion,  and  combustion  occurs  often 
without  oxidizement. 

Speaking  of  chlorine  (Treatise,  p.  276,  vol.  1)  it  is  alleged 
that  it  supports  the  combustion  of  a  great  number  of  bodies, 
of  which  a  majority  ignite  in  it  at  ordinary  temperatures.  If 
oxidizement  be  identical  with  combustion,  how  can  this  word 
be  employed  with  propriety  in  the  case  thus  quoted,  where 
oxygen  is  not  present?  If  combustion  in  the  case  of  chlorine 
is  applied  only  to  those  instances  in  which  reaction  with  other 
bodies  is  attended  by  the  phenomena  of  fire,  why  is  not  the 
term  equally  restricted  in  its  application  in  the  case  of  oxygen  ? 

Oxygen  differs  so  far  from  the  substances  usually  called 
combustibles,  that  they  will  produce  fire  with  oxygen,  and 
with  but  few,  if  any  other  substances;  while  oxygen  will 
produce  fire  with  many  substances.  But  this  characteristic 
of  producing  fire  with  many  substances  applies  to  chlorine, 
and  as  chlorine  does  not  produce  fire  with  oxygen,  it  is  devoid 
of  the  only  characteristic  which  should  entitle  it  to  be  treated 
as  a  combustible,  if  combustibility  and  susceptibility  of  union 
with  oxygen  be  identical. 

Hence,  if  it  be  deemed  proper  in  the  case  of  oxygen  to 
place  the  bodies  with  which  it  enters  into  combustion  in  one 
class,  designated  as  combustibles,  while  oxygen  is  distin- 
guished as  the  common  "  comburant "  of  them  all,  there  is 
equal  reason  for  placing  chlorine  in  a  like  predicament.  The 
impropriety  of  designating  the  substances  comprised  in  his 
halogene  and  amphigene  classes,  with  the  exception  of  oxygen 
as  combustibles,  upon  the  basis  of  their  susceptibility  of  oxi- 
dizement, must  be  evident  from  the  fact  that  fluorine  is  not 
oxidizable,  while  it  is  so  perfectly  analogous  to  the  others, 
especially  chlorine,  in  its  properties,  that  it  would  be  disad- 
vantageous to  call  it  apart. 

Berzelius  objects  to  the  use  of  the  word  "  comburant " 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  237 

(equivalent  to  the  English  word  supporter) ,  upon  the  ground 
that  the  same  substance  may  be  alternately  a  supporter  and 
a  combustible.  I  should,  however,  go  farther,  and  likewise 
object  to  the  use  of  both  words,  as  tending  to  convey  the 
erroneous  impression,  that  in  combustion,  one  of  the  ponder- 
able agents  concerned,  performs  a  part  more  active  than  the 
other;  whereas,  in  all  such  cases,  the  reaction  must  evidently  be 
reciprocal  and  equal.  I  have  repeatedly  shown  to  my  pupils, 
that  a  jet  of  oxygen  burns  in  an  atmosphere  of  hydrogen, 
as  well  as  a  jet  of  hydrogen  similarly  situated  in  oxygen. 
I  would  recommend  that  all  the  bodies  comprised  in  the 
halogene  and  amphigene  classes  of  Berzelius,  should  be  placed 
under  one  head,  to  be  called  the  basacigen  class;  thus  indicat- 
ing their  common  and  distinguishing  quality  agreeably  to  the 
premises,  of  producing  both  acids  and  bases.  The  electro- 
negative compounds  of  these  substances  to  be  called  acids, 
their  electropositive  compounds,  bases,  as  already  suggested.6 

Faithfully, 

Yr  friend, 

ROBT.  HARE. 

Hare  was  in  no  manner  disposed  to  discontinue  his  critical 
views  of  the  ideas  set  forth  by  Berzelius.  They,  therefore, 
constitute  a  part  of  the  history  of  our  Science  and  cannot 
fail  to  attract  the  student  of  the  history  of  chemical  theory. 
It  is  not  surprising  that  Berzelius  may  have  been  at  times 
mildly  displeased  with  the  persistency  of  Hare  in  setting 
forth  his  views  for,  on  a  certain  occasion  when  writing  to 
Silliman,  on  other  subjects,  he  said: 

6  Since  the  preceding  letter  was  ready  for  the  press  the  following 
remark  of  Berzelius  attracted  my  attention,  as  sanctioning  indirectly 
the  definition  which  I  have  proposed,  page  5. 

Treatise,  Vol.  3,  page  3£3,  he  alleges,  "  It  follows  from  this  that 
the  property  of  playing  the  part  of  an  acid,  is  attached  neither  to  the 
substance,  nor  to  the  manner  in  which  the  combination  takes  place. 
It  only  indicates  a  state  contrary  to  the  property  of  being  a  base. 


238  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

"  Present  my  respects  to  our  friend  Mr.  Hare.  I  owe 
him  a  long  controversial  letter  on  scientific  matters.  .  .  . 
It  is  a  little  hazardous  to  enter  into  private  discussion  with 
this  savant,  because  he  immediately  prints  all  that  is  written 
to  him,  followed  by  a  refutation.  I  have  sometimes  been  sur- 
prised to  read  in  your  Journal  a  reply  to  my  ideas  which  I 
had  never  seen  except  there.  One  cannot  be  angry,  however, 
for  Mr.  Hare  is  a  good  man,  and  seeks  the  truth  before 
everything;  but  that  makes  me  desire  not  to  turn  a  private 
controversy  into  a  public  one.  But  much  depends  on  the 
habits  of  different  countries  "  i  ,  V  ^^ 

And  as  a  reply  to  Hare's  communication  respecting  no- 
menclature (p.  222)  he  received  from  Berzelius  this  letter: 

«  sir>  "  Stockholm,  Sept.  23,  1834. 

I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  remarks,  which, 
under  the  date  of  June  21st,  you  had  the  friendship  to  com- 
municate to  me  respecting  the  nomenclature  which  I  have 
employed  in  my  Treatise  of  Chemistry. 

I  perceive  that  having  contemplated  chemical  phenomena 
under  different  points  of  view,  we  differ  as  to  the  nomen- 
clature which  is  the  most  appropriate  for  their  description. 
I  consider  the  combinations  of  metals  with  chlorine,  bromine, 
&c.,  as  salts;  whilst  you,  in  accordance  with  Mr.  De  Bons- 
dorff,  consider  them  as  bases  and  acids,  capable  of  forming 
salts  by  their  union. 

If  it  were  expedient  that  chemical  classification  should 
be  dependent  on  the  number  of  simple  bodies  which  enter 
into  each  combination,  this  idea  of  Mr.  De  Bonsdorff  would 
without  doubt  be  preferable;  but  if  attention  be  due  to  the 
chemical  properties  which  characterize  combinations,  we  can- 
not adhere  to  an  arrangement  founded  on  the  number  of  the 
elements.  Yet  so  essential  is  it  in  chemistry  to  have  reference 
to  properties,  that  a  system  of  chemistry  in  which  common 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  239 

and  analogous  properties  should  not  affect  the  arrangement, 
would  present  a  mass  of  facts  so  chaotic,  that  no  memory 
would  be  competent  to  retain  them.  In  a  system  thus  strictly 
conformable  to  the  ideas  of  Mr.  De  Bonsdorff,  cyanogen, 
though  in  its  properties  resembling  chlorine  or  bromine, 
which  are  simple  bodies,  ought  to  be  considered,  also,  as  a 
base  or  as  an  acid,  having  azote  for  its  radical — I  am  per- 
suaded you  would  not  approve  of  extending  the  system  of 
De  Bonsdorff  so  far;  but  if  it  be  correct,  it  would  be  incon- 
sistent not  to  make  this  extension. 

But  kt  us  return  to  the  combinations  of  the  metals  with 
chlorine,  fluorine,  &c.,  and  make,  in  imagination,  the  follow- 
ing experiment.  Let  us  take  two  portions  of  caustic  potash, 
a  base  in  which  the  basic  characters  are  more  striking  than 
in  any  other.  To  one,  let  us  add  a  sufficiency  of  sulphuric 
acid  to  extinguish  entirely  its  basic  property;  we  shall  then 
have  a  neutral  body  of  a  saline  taste.  You  will  admit  it  to  be 
a  salt.  Now  let  us  add  to  the  other  portion,  hydrofluoric 
acid.  At  a  certain  point  the  basic  properties  of  the  potash 
will  disappear,  and  we  shall  have  a  resulting  compound  quite 
as  neutral  as  the  sulphate  of  potash,  endowed  with  a  saline 
taste  entirely  analogous  to  that  of  the  sulphate.  The  basic 
properties  of  the  potash  are  destroyed  by  the  hydrofluoric 
acid,  as  well  as  by  the  sulphuric  acid.  But  you  will  allege  the 
resulting  combination  is  not  a  salt,  but  a  base  which  has 
exchanged  one  basifier  (oxygen)  for  another  basifier  (flu- 
orine). In  proof  you  may  add  as  much  more  hydrofluoric 
acid,  which  combining  with  the  new  base  will  form  with  it 
a  crystallized  salt.  But  this  salt  is  not  neutral,  it  has  almost 
the  same  acidity  of  taste  as  the  hydrofluoric  acid  employed. 
The  new  base  does  not  destroy  then  the  acid  reaction. 

Let  us  make  a  further  addition  of  sulphuric  acid  to  the 
sulphate  of  potash.  A  salt  equally  acid  will  result,  in  which 
the  sulphate  of  potash  acts  the  same  basic  part  towards  the 


240  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

sulphuric  acid,  as  the  fluoride  of  potassium  towards  the  hy- 
drofluoric acid.  Should  it  be  desired  to  extend  the  compari- 
son further,  it  will  be  found  that  for  each  less  electro-positive 
fluoride,  susceptible  of  combination  with  the  potassic  fluoride, 
there  will  be,  with  but  very  few  exceptions,  a  corresponding 
sulphate,  susceptible  of  combination  with  the  sulphate  of 
potash.  The  analogy  is  then  complete,  it  exists  not  only  in 
the  perfect  neutrality  of  the  two  potassic  salts,  in  their 
saline  taste,  but  also  in  their  manner  of  forming  combina- 
tions with  other  bodies,  notwithstanding  one  of  them,  the 
sulphate,  contains  one  element  more  than  the  other.  If,  in- 
stead of  potash,  potassium  were  employed  to  saturate  our 
two  acids,  the  analogy  of  the  operation  in  both  cases  would 
be  still  more  complete.  The  same  quantity  of  metal  would 
displace  equal  volumes  of  hydrogen.  When  the  visible  re- 
sults of  our  experiments  are  so  perfectly  analogous,  it  is  to 
be  presumed  that  the  invisible  process  which  we  do  not  see, 
may  also  be  perfectly  analogous,  and  that  if  facts  exactly 
like  are  explained  differently,  there  must  be  a  defect  in  the 
explanation.  If,  for  instance,  the  true  electro-chemical  com- 
position of  the  sulphate  of  potash  should  not  be  KO  +  SO3, 
as  is  generally  supposed,  but  K+  SO4,  and  it  appears  very 
natural  that  atoms,  so  eminently  electro-negative  as  sulphur 
and  oxygen,  should  be  associated,  we  have,  in  the  salt  in 
question,  potassium  combined  with  a  compound  body,  which, 
like  cyanogen  in  K  +  C2N,  imitates  simple  halogen  bodies, 
and  gives  a  salt  with  potassium  and  other  metals.  The 
hydrated  oxacids,  agreeably  to  this  view,  would  be  then  hy- 
dracids  of  a  compound  halogen  body,  from  which  metals 
may  displace  hydrogen,  as  in  the  hydracids  of  simple  halogen 
bodies.  Thus  we  know  that  SO3,  that  is  to  say,  anhydrous 
sulphuric  acid,  is  a  body  whose  properties,  as  respects  acidity, 
differ  from  those  which  we  should  expect  in  the  active  prin- 
ciple of  hydrous  sulphuric  acid. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  241 

The  difference  between  the  oxysalts,  and  the  halosalts  is 
very  easily  illustrated  by  formulae.  In  K/FF — fluoride  of 
potassium,  there  is  but  one  single  line  of  substitution,  that  is 
to  say,  that  of  K/FF,  whilst  in  KOOOOS  (sulphate  of 
potash)  there  are  two  K/OOOOS  and  KO/OOOS  of  which 
we  use  the  first  in  replacing  one  metal  by  another,  for  in- 
stance, copper  by  iron;  and  the  second  in  replacing  one  oxide 
by  another. 

I  do  not  know  what  value  you  may  attach  to  this  develop- 
ment of  the  constitution  of  the  oxysalts  (which  applies 
equally  to  the  sulphosalts  and  others) :  but  as  to  myself,  I 
have  a  thorough  conviction,  that  there  is  therein,  something 
more  than  a  vague  speculation;  since  it  unfolds  to  us  an 
internal  analogy  in  phenomena,  which,  agreeably  to  the  per- 
ception of  our  senses,  are  externally  analogous.  If  these 
phenomena  are  to  be  considered  agreeably  to  the  ideas  of 
Mr.  De  Bonsdorff ,  how  does  it  happen  that  sulphur,  phos- 
phorus, arsenic,  and  other  radicals  of  the  strongest  oxacids, 
when  united  with  chlorine,  bromine,  iodine,  &c.,  do  not  com- 
bine easily  with  those  of  magnesium,  iron,  and  manganese. 
Should  then  the  chloride  of  magnesium,  or  that  of  manganese, 
be  a  stronger  acid  than  the  chloride  of  sulphur,  or  chloride  of 
phosphorus?  How  is  it  consistent  with  these  ideas  that  we 
can  obtain  crystallized  salts  as  well  with,  as  without  water,  of 
combination,  composed  of  chloride  of  calcium  and  of  oxalate, 
or  of  acetate  of  lime?  Should  the  oxysalt  be  here  the  acid, 
or  the  base?  I  have  now  displayed  to  you,  the  considerations 
which  have  guided  me,  and  which  I  think  are  not  destitute  of 
foundation. 

I  cheerfully  admit  that  it  would  be  preferable  to  employ 
the  word  chlorohydric,  instead  of  hydrochloric.  My  motive 
for  retaining  this  last,  is,  that  I  have  ventured  to  propose  a 
new  nomenclature  in  a  language  foreign  to  me,  in  which  it 
was  inexpedient  to  make  changes  which  could  be  avoided 

16 


242  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

without  inconvenience.  I  also  agree  with  you,  that  we  ought 
not  to  use  combustible  and  oxidable  as  having  the  same 
meaning.  I  have  deserved  your  strictures  for  this  incon- 
sistency in  my  language ;  but  I  must  suggest  as  an  apology, 
that  the  two  words  were  formerly  used  as  synonymous,  and 
that  the  work,  in  which  you  have  recently  noticed  this  over- 
sight, was  first  published  in  1806,  having  been  from  time  to 
time  remoulded  for  new  editions,  without  having  been  pos- 
sible to  eradicate  all  that  has  not  kept  pace  with  the  progress 
of  science. 

Accept  the  assurance  of  my  perfect  esteem,  and  of  the 
sentiments  of  sincere  friendship  with  which  I  have  the  honor 
to  be,  Yours,  &c.  BERZELIUS." 

Naturally  Hare  replied;  and  in  these  words,  addressed 
apparently,  to  the  chemical  public : 

"  So  far  as  my  strictures  were  founded  on  the  alleged 
difficulty  of  defining  the  terms  acid,  salt  and  base,  in  any 
mode  consistent  with  his  classification,  they  are  not  met  by 
any  facts  or  reasoning  in  the  much  esteemed  letter  of  my 
illustrious  correspondent.  The  impracticability  of  defining 
a  salt,  as  he  does  not  deny ;  and  with  great  candor  he  admits 
that,  in  his  definition  of  acidity,  he  has  not  been  consistent. 
He  concedes  that  it  would  be  preferable  to  give  the  syllable, 
indicating  the  electro-negative  ingredient,  the  precedence,  as 
nothing  but  unwillingness  to  innovate,  prevented  him  from 
pursuing  that  course. 

He  acknowledges  that  as  combustion,  in  many  instances, 
takes  place  without  the  presence  of  oxygen,  the  application 
of  the  word  combustible,  should  not  be  confined  to  bodies 
which  are  susceptible  of  oxydizement. 

My  definition  of  acidity  was  as  follows: — 

"  When,  of  two  substances  capable  of  combining  with 
EACH  OTHER  SO  As  To  form  a  tertium  quid,  and  having 


SECOND  PERIOD,  181&-1847  243 

an  ingredient  common  to  them  both,  one  prefers  the  positive 
the  other  the  negative  pole  of  the  Voltaic  series,,  we  must  deem 
the  former  an  acid,  and  the  latter  a  base.  Also  all  substances 
having  a  sour  taste,  or  which  redden  litmus,  must  be  deemed 
adds,  agreeably  to  usage"  This  definition  I  would  now 
amend  by  leaving  out  the  last  sentence,  and  substituting 
therefor,  the  following:  Also  when  any  substance  is  capable 
of  forming  a  tertium  quid  with  any  acid  or  base  agreeably  to 
the  preceding  definition,,  it  must  be  considered  as  an  acid  in  the 
one  case,  a  base  in  the  other.  The  definition,  thus  amended, 
takes  in  the  organic  acids  and  bases.  In  the  form  in  which  it 
was  at  first  proposed,  it  has  not  been  alleged  defective  by 
Berzelius ;  but  he  has  striven  to  show  an  incongruity  in  the 
attributes  of  his  double  salts,  when  contrasted  with  those 
resulting  from  the  union  of  some  of  the  acids  and  bases  of 
his  amphigen  class;  which  incongruity  is,  in  his  opinion,  a 
sufficient  reason  for  not  considering  them  as  simple  salts, 
and  their  ingredients  as  acids  and  bases,  agreeably  to  the 
opinions  of  De  Bonsdorff  and  myself. 

Beraelius  errs  in  confounding  my  opinions  with  those  of 
De  Bonsdorff.  However,  I  may  have  admired  the  sagacity 
with  which  that  chemist  investigated  the  pretensions  of  some 
haloid  salts  to  certain  attributes  of  acidity  or  alkalinity;  in 
my  letter  on  the  Berzelian  nomenclature,  I  signified  my  un- 
willingness to  rest  my  opinions  upon  a  basis  so  narrow,  as 
that  which  he  had  endeavored  to  establish.  I  stated  that  I 
did  not  deem  it  necessary  to  appeal  to  his  excellent  observa- 
tions, proving  certain  attributes  of  acidity  to  exist  in  one 
case,  those  of  alkalinity  in  the  other.  I  alleged  my  definition 
to  be  forwarded  on  the  conviction  that  the  property  of  affect- 
ing vegetable  colors,  on  which  that  sagacious  chemist  lays 
so  much  stress,  has  not  latterly,  been  deemed  necessary  in 
acids;  and  that  in  bases  never  was  required.  As  respects 
them,  it  only  served  as  a  mean  of  subdivision  between  alkaline 
oxides  and  other  oxybases. 


244  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

I  am  at  a  loss  to  discover  in  what  part  of  my  letter  there 
was  any  language  which  could  convey  the  erroneous  impres- 
sion, that,  in  defining  acids  and  bases  I  proposed  to  over- 
look properties,  and  to  be  regulated  by  attention  to  the  num- 
ber of  atoms  in  a  compound.  Certainly  nothing  was  more 
foreign  to  my  thoughts. 

It  is  assumed  by  Berzelius  that  the  saturation  of  the 
fluobase  of  potassium  by  fluohydric  acid,  cannot  be  consid- 
ered as  analogous  to  the  saturation  of  the  oxybase  of  potas- 
sium by  sulphuric  acid;  because  the  resulting  compound  is 
to  the  taste,  in  one  case  neutral,  in  the  other  sour.  In  reply 
I  suggested  that  if  the  salidity  of  the  biborates  and  bicar- 
bonates  was  not  to  be  questioned  on  account  of  their  alkaline 
taste,  nor  that  of  the  protochloride  of  tin  on  account  of  its 
sourness,  it  was  not  consistent  that  the  pretensions  to  salidity 
of  the  fluohydrate  of  the  fluobase  of  potassium  should  be 
denied  on  account  of  its  sour  taste.  I  will  now  add  that  if 
the  fluosilicate  of  potassium  be  a  double  salt,  the  fluoride  of 
silicon  one  of  its  two  constituents  must  be  a  simple  salt,  and 
yet  it  is  sour.  If  a  simple  salt  may  be  sour,  why  may  not  a 
double  salt  have  this  attribute;  and  how  in  fact  can  its 
presence  be  inconsistent  with  salidity?  Is  not  the  absence 
of  this  characteristic  in  silica  and  tannin,  and  many  other 
acids,  as  much  against  their  claims  to  acidity,  as  its  pres- 
ence in  other  compounds  is  an  objection  to  their  association 
with  saline  bodies.  It  is  considered  by  Berzelius  an  ob- 
jection to  the  views  which  I  have  espoused,  that  the  halogen 
bodies,  while  forming  acids  with  various  metallic  radicals 
which  oxygen  does  not  acidify,  do  not  form  acids  with  sulphur, 
phosphorus,  and  arsenic  which  oxygen  does  acidify ;  yet  what 
is  there  in  this,  more  difficult  to  reconcile  with  the  established 
results  of  chemical  combinations,  than  in  the  fact  that  oxygen 
forms  with  sulphur,  phosphorus,  and  arsenic,  strong  acids, 
with  hydrogen  water ;  while  with  hydrogen  the  halogen  bodies 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  245 

all  form  compounds  which  Berzelius  describes  as  having  the 
highest  pretensions  to  acidity.  The  highly  active  acid  prop- 
erties of  the  fluorides  of  boron  and  silicon,  would  lead  us  to 
expect  similar  compounds  to  be  formed  by  the  same  radicals, 
with  the  other  halogen  bodies,  contrary  to  experience.  Chem- 
istry makes  us  acquainted  with  many  similar  discordances. 
How  is  it  that  oxygen  forms  aeriform  compounds  with  an 
extremely  fixed  body  in  the  instance  of  carbon;  while  in  that 
of  phosphorus  or  arsenic,  both  volatilizable,  it  forms  acids 
which  are  comparatively  insusceptible  of  volatilization? 
Wherefore  does  not  hydrogen  produce  an  acid  with  phos- 
phorus and  arsenic,  as  well  as  with  sulphur? 

According  to  Berzelius,  all  the  halogen  bodies  produce 
with  hydrogen  combinations  which  are  as  highly  endowed 
with  the  attributes  of  acidity,  as  the  strongest  acids  into  which 
oxygen  enters  as  a  constituent.  It  is  conceded  in  his  letter 
that  his  language  respecting  these  combinations  cannot  be 
reconciled  with  his  declaration  in  one  place  that  they  do  not 
combine  with  oxybases  and  in  another  that  a  body  which 
cannot  so  combine  is  not  an  acid.  It  strikes  me,  that  the 
only  way  in  which  the  admitted  inconsistency  of  his  descrip- 
tion of  these  bodies,  with  his  definition  of  acidity,  can  be 
avoided,  is  by  assuming  that  they  combine  as  acids  with  haloid 
bases,  although  decomposed  by  oxybases. 

I  will  now  proceed  to  comment  on  a  new  subject  for  con- 
sideration, presented  in  Berzelius's  letter  in  reply  to  mine. 

It  must  be  evident  that  every  oxysalt,  composed  of  an 
oxacid  and  an  oxybase,  must  consist  of  an  atom  of  each  rad- 
ical, and  as  many  atoms  of  oxygen  as  exist  both  in  the  acid 
and  in  the  base.  Thus  sulphate  of  potash  consists  of  an  atom 
of  potassium,  an  atom  of  sulphur  and  four  atoms  of  oxygen, 
and  may  be  represented  either  by  SOOO  KO  or  SOOOOK. 

Berzelius  in  his  letter  repeats  an  ingenious  suggestion 
previously  advanced  in  his  treatise,  that  SOOOO  (sulphur 


246  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

with  four  atoms  of  oxygen)  may  act,  as  a  compound  halogen 
body  like  cyanogen,  and  thus  form  a  salt  by  union  with  an 
atom  of  any  radical.  He  conceives  that  the  apparent  want 
of  analogy,  which  induced  him  to  separate  into  two  classes, 
the  amphigen  and  halogen  bodies,  disappears  under  this  view 
of  the  phenomena;  and  that  his  amphide  salts  might  be 
considered  as  constituted  of  a  compound  halogen  body  and 
an  elementary  radical.  But  however  we  may  admire  the 
ingenuity  of  these  suggestions,  ere,  in  obedience  to  them,  we 
extend  the  limits  of  the  halogen  class,  I  would  request  that 
the  word  salt  should  be  defined,  and  that  it  be  shown  that  con- 
sistently with  any  definition  which  can  be  devised,  there  is 
any  class  of  bodies  in  nature  which  merit  the  appellation  of 
salt  producers.  Before  enlarging  the  superstructure,  let  it 
be  shown  that  the  basement  has  been  well  grounded. 

Berzelius  lays  some  stress  on  the  community  of  effect,  in 
the  evolution  of  hydrogen,  both  by  acids  formed  by  hydrogen 
with  halogen  bodies,  and  by  diluted  hydrous  sulphuric  acid, 
as  evincing  a  similitude  of  composition  justifying  the  sug- 
gestion above  quoted  from  him.  But  I  conceive  that  this 
common  result  is  better  explained  by  ascribing  it  to  the  ten- 
dency of  radicals  to  displace  each  other  from  combination, 
whether  existing  in  a  simple  or  a  complicated  compound. 
If  water  exists  as  a  base  in  hydrous  sulphuric  acid,  as  I  have 
elsewhere  suggested,  we  may  consider  this  hydrous  acid  as 
a  sulphate  of  the  oxybase  of  hydrogen;  and  that  when  it 
reacts  with  zinc  or  iron,  the  proneness  of  hydrogen  to  the 
aeriform  state  enables  either  metal  to  take  its  place,  agree- 
ably to  the  established  laws  of  affinity. 

It  may  be  proper,  before  concluding,  to  explain  more 
particularly  the  nomenclature  which  I  have  adopted. 

The  amphigen,  the  halogen  bodies  of  Berzelius  as  they 
produce  acids  and  bases  according  to  my  definition,  are  all 
classed  as  basacigen  bodies.  Of  course  oxygen,  chlorine, 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  247 

bromine,  iodine,  fluorine,  cyanogen,  sulphur,  selenium  and 
tellurium,  are  included  in  this  class. 

The  general  designation  of  a  binary  compound  of  a  basaci- 
gen  body,  is  the  termination  in  ide;  the  special,  the  termina- 
tion in  acid,  when  the  compound  acts  as  an  acid,  in  base,  when 
it  acts  as  a  base. 

Hence  an  oxide,  may  be  an  oxacid,  or  an  oxybase; 

a  chloride,  a  chloracid,  or  a  chloribase; 

a  bromide,  a  bromacid,  or  a  bromibase; 

an  iodide,  an  iodacid,  or  an  iodobase; 

a  cyanide,  a  cjanacid,  or  a  cyanobase; 

a  sulphide,  a  sulphacid,  or  a  sulphobase; 

a  selenide,  a  selenacid,  or  a  selenibase; 

a  telluride,  a  telluracid,  or  a  telluribase. 

Compounds  which  consist  of  radicals  only,  are  distin- 
guished by  the  term  uret  equivalent  to  the  French  ure.  Hence 
carburet,  phosphuret,  boruret,  silicuret,  &c. 

Of  any  two  binary  compounds  containing  each  the  same 
basacigen  body  and  forming  one  compound,  the  more  electro- 
negative is  an  acid,  the  other  a  base.  Hence  all  the  electro- 
negative haloid  compounds  in  the  Berzelian  double  salts,  are 
acids,  and  the  electro-positive,  bases.  Where  there  are  two 
such  compounds  one  containing  one  basacigen  atom,  the  other 
two  atoms  or  one  and  half,  the  former  has  a  termination  in 
ous,  the  latter  in  ic.  As  for  instance  the  chlorureplatinosopo- 
tassique  of  Berzelius,  is  a  compound  of  chloroplatinous  acid, 
and  the  chlorobase  of  potassium,  and  is  the  chloroplatinite  of 
potassium.  The  clilorureplatinico-potassique  of  the  same 
author,  is  the  chloroplatinate  of  potassium. 

The  terms  amphigen  and  halogen  being  employed  both 
from  expedience,  and  in  honor  of  their  author,  we  may  use 
his  term  haloid  and  amphide,  to  distinguish  the  acids  or  bases 
severally  formed  by  these  classes,  the  abbreviations  halo  and 
amph,  being  employed  in  composition.  Thus  I  designate 


248  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

the  acids  formed  by  the  halogen  bodies  with  hydrogen,  as 
halohydric  acids;  those  formed  with  that  radical  by  the  am- 
phigen  bodies,  as  amphydric  acids.  As  the  same  radical  will 
in  other  cases  be  found  to  form  acids  with  several  of  the 
halogen  bodies,  platinum  for  instance,  the  acid  thus  pro- 
duced, may  be  called  haloplatinic  acids;  or  if  gold  were  the 
radical,  they  would  be  haloauric  acids.  These  examples  will 
suggest  to  the  chemical  reader  a  series  of  names,  as  for  in- 
stance haloargentic,  halocupric,  halostannic,  halopalladic. 

I  consider  prussian  blue  as  a  cyanoferrite  of  the  cyano- 
base  of  iron,  or  briefly  a  cyanoferrite  of  iron.  The  diversity 
of  properties  which  enables  two  cyanides  of  iron  to  exist  in 
combination  in  this  cyanoferrite,  one  as  an  acid,  the  other  as 
a  base,  is  one  among  many  other  instances  in  which  com- 
pounds constituted  of  the  same  elements  in  the  same  ratio, 
have  different  properties,  and  are  said  in  consequence  to  be 
isomeric,  or  to  afford  cases  of  isomerism. 

The  salt  designated  by  Berzelius  as  the  "  cyanure  fer- 
roso-potassique,"  is  the  well  known  test  for  iron  heretofore 
called  ferroprussiate  of  potassa;  under  the  idea  that  it  con- 
sisted of  prussic  acid,  iron  and  potassa.  As  the  prussic  acid 
was  viewed  at  the  same  time  as  a  compound  of  hydrogen  and 
cyanogen,  the  ferroprussic  acid  was  considered  as  a  com- 
pound of  cyanogen,  hydrogen,  and  iron.  According  to 
Berzelius,  the  supposed  ferroprussiate  is  a  compound  of  a 
"  protocyanure  "  of  iron,  and  a  "cyanure  of  potassium  " ;  each 
being  a  simple  haloid  salt  and  the  aggregate  a  double  (e  cyan- 
ure." Agreeably  to  my  nomenclature,  the  ee  protocyanure  " 
of  iron  is  considered  as  cyanof  errous  acid,  and  the ff  cyanure  " 
of  potassium  as  a  cyanobase;  the  aggregate  being  a  cyano- 
ferrite of  the  cyanobase  of  potassium,  but  designated  briefly 
as  a  cyanoferrite  of  potassium. 

I  infer  that  the  "  ferroprussic  "  acid  is  analogous  in  con- 
stitution to  the  triple  compound  of  fluorine,  silicon  and 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  249 

hydrogen,  improperly  called  hydrofluosilicic  acid;  and  that, 
consistently  with  the  hypothetical  views  under  which  the 
latter  received  its  name,  the  former  should  be  called  hydro- 
cyanof erric  acid.  Even  admitting  the  correctness  of  the  hy- 
pothetical impression,  to  which  I  have  alluded,  agreeably 
to  which  such  compounds  are  acids  with  a  double  radical,  I 
urged  that  the  appellations  of  such  compounds  should  be  so 
altered  as  to  give  precedency  to  the  electro-negative  ingredi- 
ent. Hence  the  one  would  be  called  cyanohydrof erric  acid; 
and  the  other,  fluohydrosilicic  acid.  But  in  my  letter  to  Prof. 
Silliman,  already  cited,  I  advanced  a  new  hypothesis  respect- 
ing the  constitution  of  the  fluohydrosilicic,  and  fluohydro- 
boric  acids.  I  suggested  that  they  should  be  considered  as 
compounds  in  which  the  fluorides  of  silicon  or  boron  acted  as 
acids,  the  fluoride  of  hydrogen  as  a  base.  Consistently  with 
that  doctrine,  I  would  consider  protocyanide  (or (f  cyanure JJ) 
of  iron  in  the  alleged  ferroprussic  acid,  as  acting  as  cyano- 
ferrous  acid,  the  cyanide  of  hydrogen  (prussic  acid)  as  a 
cyanobase  forming,  by  their  union,  a  cyanoferrite  of  hydrogen. 

As  compounds,  consisting  of  a  basacigen  body,  hydrogen 
and  a  radical,  do  not,  when  presented  to  bases,  enter  into 
combination;  but  are  on  the  contrary,  decomposed  so  as  to 
allow  another  radical  to  take  the  place  of  their  hydrogen,  it  is 
inconsistent  with  chemical  law,  as  stated  by  Berzelius,  or  my 
definition  of  acidity,  to  designate  them  as  acids. 

I  have  called  the  electro-negative Cf  protocyanure  "  of  iron 
of  Berzelius,  cyanof erraas  acid,  because  there  is  "  sesqui- 
cyanure  "  in  the (<  cyanureferrico-potassique  "  of  that  author, 
which  by  analogy  with  the  nomenclature  of  the  oxacids,  is 
entitled  to  the  appellation  of  cyanof  erric  acid." 

A  contemporary  (1843)  in  speaking  of  the  preceding 
brochure  said: 

"  This  is  a  very  acute  and  able  discussion  of  an  obscure 
and  difficult  subject.  .  .  .  An  attempt  to  subvert  the 


250  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

present  nomenclature  of  the  oxysalts,  and  to  introduce  a 
new  arrangement  of  their  elements,  so  as  to  make  them  cor- 
respond with  the  haloid  salts,  appears  to  us  very  unnecessary, 
and  to  be  unsupported  by  any  reasons,  sufficiently  impor- 
tant, to  justify  so  annoying  an  innovation.  Men  of  acute 
minds  may  arrange  mentally  the  chemical  atoms  so  as  to 
produce  results  which  harmonize,  and  leave  no  fractions  to 
be  disposed  of.  But  bounds  should  be  set  to  these  intellec- 
tual recreations,  especially  when  they  produce  a  host  of  new 
names  for  principles  whose  existence  cannot  be  proved,  be- 
cause they  cannot  be  isolated.  Many  of  the  names,  for  ex- 
ample, recently  introduced  into  the  organic  chemistry,  are 
uncouth,  complex,  hypothetical,  and  at  war  with  euphony. 
Dr.  Hare's  argument,  as  regards  the  new  nomenclature  of 
the  oxysalts,  appears  to  us  to  be  conclusive,  and  we  trust  that 
the  beautiful  language  so  long  in  use  will  not  be  set  aside, 
nor  the  still  more  beautiful  harmony  of  the  saline  elements 
disturbed." 

In  addition  there  is  the  subjoined  letter  addressed  to  the 
editors  of  the  American  Journal  of  Science.  Its  contents  are 
very  interesting: 

"Dear  Sirs: 

In  September,  1833,  I  published  in  your  Journal,  to- 
gether with  some  encomiums  upon  the  treatise  of  Chemistry 
by  the  celebrated  Berzelius,  certain  objections  to  his  nomen- 
clature, and  some  suggestions  respecting  a  substitute,  which 
I  deemed  to  be  preferable.  In  the  following  June  I  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  Professor  Silliman  upon  the  same  topics,  in 
which  my  criticisms  and  suggestions  were  amplified  and  cor- 
rected in  obedience  to  more  mature  reflection.  A  printed  copy 
of  that  letter  having  been  sent  by  me  to  Berzelius,  I  received 
in  answer  an  epistle,  of  which  I  furnish  you  with  a  translation. 

Since  the  period  of  that  correspondence,  so  demonstrative 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  251 

of  candor  and  good  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  great  Swedish 
chemist,  I  have  published  two  editions  of  my  Compendium 
of  Chemistry,  in  which  I  have  pursued  a  course  correspond- 
ing with  my  criticisms  above  alluded  to.  I  am  therefore 
desirous,  in  addition  to  the  letter  to  Berzelius  to  lay  before 
the  public  a  recapitulation,  a  review,  and  an  additional  ex- 
planation of  the  grounds  upon  which  I  have  ventured  to 
employ  a  language,  and  an  arrangement  inconsistent  with 
the  practice  and  opinions  of  a  chemist  by  whose  authority  in 
other  respects,  I  am  usually  influenced.  But  before  pro- 
ceeding with  the  ungracious  task  of  endeavoring  to  establish 
the  correctness  of  my  views  in  opposition  to  those  of  my 
friend,  I  feel  that  it  will  be  no  more  than  justice  to  repeat  an 
acknowledgment,  already  made  in  my  text  book,  that  if  De 
Bonsdorff,  myself,  and  others  are  right  in  considering  the 
double  salts  of  Berzelius  as  simple  salts,  it  is  to  the  light 
afforded  by  his  investigations,  that  we  owe  the  power  of  seeing 
the  subject  correctly.  I  believe  the  idea,  that  any  other  body 
besides  oxygen  could  produce  both  acids  and  bases  capable 
of  forming  salts,  originated  with  Berzelius,  in  the  instance 
of  sulphur. 

According  to  the  Berzelian  nomenclature,  bodies  which 
produce  salts  by  a  union  with  radicals  are  called  halogen  or 
salt  producing  bodies.,  while  those  which  with  radicals  form 
both  acids  and  bases,  capable  by  their  union  of  constituting 
salts,  are  called  amphigen  bodies  or  both  producers.  Salts, 
produced  by  the  first  mentioned  class  are  called  haloid  salts ; 
those  produced  by  the  other  are  called  amphide  salts. 

I  objected  to  this  classification,  that  the  words  salt,  acid 
and  base,  were  broad,  vague  and  unsettled  in  the  acceptation, 
having,  by  chemists  in  general,  and  especially  by  Berzelius, 
been  employed  to  designate  substances  differing  in  composi- 
tion, and  extremely  discordant  in  their  properties;  that  no 
method  of  defining  a  salt  had  been  devised,  which  had  not  been 


THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

founded  either  on  properties  or  composition,  that  in  the  no- 
menclature of  Berzelius  properties  were  disregarded,  since 
among  his  haloid  and  amphide  salts  were  found  substances, 
differing  extremely  in  this  respect.  Thus,  for  instance,  com- 
mon salt,  Glauber's  salt,  Epsom  salt,  vitriolated  tartar,  and 
cream  of  tartar,  were  associated  with  the  fuming  liquor  of 
Libavius,  the  butyraceous  chlorides  of  zinc,  antimony,  and  bis- 
muth, plubum  corneum,  luna  cornea,  fluor  spar,  and  the  acid 
fluorides  of  silicon  and  boron.  I  objected  also  that  composi- 
tion could  not  be  resorted  to  consistently  with  his  classifica- 
tion ;  since,  agreeably  to  it,  a  salt  might  be  either  a  binary  com- 
pound of  a  halogen  body  with  a  radical,  or  consist  of  two 
binary  compounds,  each  containing  the  same  amphigen  body. 

To  the  terms  acid  and  base,  as  employed  in  his  nomen- 
clature, I  objected,  that  neither  by  the  celebrated  author,  nor 
by  any  other  chemist  had  any  definition  been  adhered  to 
which  could,  consistently  with  his  plan,  restrict  the  meaning 
of  those  appellations  to  be  binary  compounds  formed  by  the 
union  of  his  amphigen  bodies  with  radicals. 

Acidity  and  basidity  7  had  sometimes  been  distinguished 
by  an  appeal  to  properties,  sometimes  to  composition,  but  to 
neither  had  there  been  any  consistent  attention.  In  order 
to  demonstrate  the  total  neglect  of  properties  latterly  dis- 
played, it  was  only  necessary  to  contrast  substances  bearing 
generally  the  name  of  acids;  as  for  instance  sulphuric  acid 
with  rock  crystal,  acetic  acid  with  tannin,  and  prussic  acid 
with  margaric;  or  to  contemplate  simultaneously  the  ad- 
mission of  the  hydracids  formed  with  the  halogen  bodies  into 
the  class  of  acids,  while  alleged  incapable  of  combining  with 
bases,  with  the  exclusion  from  that  class  of  nitrous  acid, 
upon  the  plea  of  the  same  incapacity. 

7  For  the  use  of  the  words  basidity  and  salidity,  I  have  no 
authority,  but  conceive  that  through  their  analogy  with  acidity,  their 
meaning  is  so  obvious  as  to  make  it  expedient  to  employ  them. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  253 

In  reference  to  neglect  of  composition  in  forming  the 
class  of  acids,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  advert  to  the  association 
in  that  class,  of  compounds  formed  with  radicals  both  by  the 
halogen  and  amphigen  bodies;  so  that  the  halogen  bodies  are 
in  one  case  producers  of  salts,  in  the  other  producers  of  acids ; 
in  one  case  act  as  supporters,  acidifiers,  or  electro-negative 
principles,  in  another  as  radicals  to  the  comparatively  electro- 
positive hydrogen,  pre-eminently  a  radical  by  the  definition 
of  that  word  given  in  the  treatise  of  the  distinguished  author 
of  the  nomenclature. 

After  stating  my  objections  to  the  basis  of  the  Berzelian 
nomenclature,  I  proceeded  to  mention  those  to  which  I  con- 
sidered the  superstructure  as  liable. 

Having  designated  the  acid  compounds  of  his  amphigen 
class,  by  prefixing  syllables  indicating  their  electro-negative 
ingredients ;  having  also  in  some  instances,  as  in  those  of  the 
fluosilicic  and  fluoboric  acids,  adopted  this  course  in  relation 
to  halogen  bodies ;  I  objected  to  the  use  of  the  word  hydracid, 
in  which  the  electro-positive  radical  is  made  to  act  as  if  co- 
ordinate with  oxygen. 

Moreover,  the  termination  in  ide  having  been  generally 
attached  to  the  electro-positive  compounds  of  oxygen,  acting 
as  bases,  I  condemned  the  employment  of  that  termination, 
to  distinguish  the  electro-positive  compounds  and  acid  com- 
pounds of  sulphur,  selenium,  and  tellurium.  I  considered 
it  inconsistent  to  give  precedence  to  the  syllable  designating 
the  radical  in  the  acids  formed  with  hydrogen ;  as  in  hydro- 
chloric, hydrobromic,  hydriodic,  hydrofluoric,  hydrofluoboric, 
hydrofluosilicic,  preferring  the  terms  chlorohydric,  bromo- 
hydric,  iodhydric,  fluohydroboric,  fluohydrosilicic,  &c.,  in 
which  I  have  been  sanctioned  by  Thenard  and  others. 

I  proposed  a  definition  of  an  acid  and  a  base,  which  I  con- 
ceived to  be  the  only  one  which  could  be  adopted,  consistently 
with  the  uses  made  of  those  words  by  Berzelius,  and  other 


354  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

distinguished  chemists;  and  advanced  that,  agreeable  to  that 
definition,  his  double  haloid  salts  must  be  considered  as  simple 
salts,  severally  formed  of  an  acid  and  a  base. 

I  objected  to  his  treating  the  words  combustion  and 
oxygenation  as  synonymous." 

To  slightly  anticipate  chronologically,  the  following  elab- 
orate presentation  of  Hare's  ideas  on  radicals  may  now  find 
place.  The  communication  is  very  closely  attached  to  his 
previously  expressed  views.  It  bears  the  title: 

An  effort  to  refute  the  arguments  advanced  in  favor  of 
the  Existence,  in  the  Amphide  Salts,  of  Radicals  consisting, 
like  Cyanogen,  of  more  than  one  element,  and  reads  as 
follows: 

The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  opinions,  which  it  is 
the  object  of  the  subsequent  reasoning  to  justify. 

a.  The  community  of  effect,  as  respects  the  extrication 
of  hydrogen  by  contact  of  certain  metals  with  aqueous  solu- 
tions of  sulphuric  and  chlorohydric  acid,  is  not  an  adequate 
ground  for  an  inferred  analogy  of  composition,  since  it  must 
inevitably  arise  that  any  radical  will,  from  any  compound, 
displace  any  other  radical,  when  the  forces  favoring  its  sub- 
stitution, preponderate  over  the  quiescent  affinities. 

b.  But  if,  nevertheless,  it  be  held  that  the  evolution  of 
hydrogen  from  any  combination,  by  contact  with  a  metal, 
is  a  sufficient  proof  of  the  existence  of  a  halogen  body,  simple 
or  compound,  in  the  combination,  the  evolution  of  hydrogen 
from  water,  by  the  contact  with  any  metal  of  the  alkalies, 
must  prove  oxygen  to  be  a  halogen  body,  also  the  evolution 
of  hydrogen  from  sulphydric,   selenhydric,   or  telluhydric 
acids,  by  similar  means,  would  justify  an  inference  that  sul- 
phur, selenium,  or  tellurium,  as  well  as  oxygen,  belong  to 
the  halogen,  or  "  salt  radical  "  class. 

c.  The  amphigen  bodies  being  thus  proved  to  belong  to 
the  halogen  class,  oxides,  sulphides,  selenides,  and  tellurides, 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  255 

would  be  haloid  salts,  and  their  compounds  double  salts,  in- 
stead of  consisting  of  a  compound  radical  and  a  metal. 

d.  The  argument  in  favor  of  similarity  of  composition 
in  the  haloid  and  amphide  salts,  founded  on  a  limited  resem- 
blance of  properties  in  some  instances,  is  more  than  counter- 
balanced by  the  extreme  dissimilitude  in  many  others. 

e.  As,  in  either  class,  almost  every  property  may  be  found 
which  is  observed  in  any  chemical  compound,  the  existence  of 
a  similitude,  in  some  cases,  might  be  naturally  expected. 

f.  As  it  is  evident  that  many  salts,  perfectly  analogous 
in  composition,  are  extremely  dissimilar  in  properties,  it  is 
not  reasonable  to  consider  resemblance  in  properties,  as  a 
proof  of  analogy  in  composition. 

g.  No  line  of  distinction,  as  respects  either  properties 
or  composition,  can  be  drawn  between  the  binary  compounds 
of  the  amphigen  and  halogen  bodies,  which  justifies  that  sepa- 
rate classification  which  the  doctrine  requires ;  so  that  it  must 
be  untenable  as  respects  the  one,  or  be  extended  to  the  other. 

h.  The  great  diversity,  both  as  respects  properties  and 
composition,  of  the  bodies  called  salts,  rendering  it  impossible 
to  define  the  meaning  of  the  word,  any  attempt  to  vary  the 
language  and  theory  of  chemistry,  in  reference  to  the  idea 
of  a  salt,  must  be  disadvantageous. 

i.  There  is  at  least  as  much  mystery  in  the  fact,  that  the 
addition  of  an  atom  of  oxygen  to  an  oxacid,  should  confer 
an  affinity  for  a  simple  radical,  as  that  the  addition  of  an 
atom  of  this  element  to  such  a  radical,  should  create  an 
affinity  between  it,  and  an  oxacid. 

j.  If  one  atom  of  oxygen  confer  upon  the  base  into  which 
it  enters,  the  power  to  combine  with  one  atom  of  acid,  it  is 
quite  consistent  that  the  affinity  should  be  augmented,  pro- 
portionably,  by  a  further  accession  of  oxygen. 

k.  It  were  quite  as  anomalous,  mysterious,  and  improb- 
able, that  there  should  be  three  oxyphosphions,  severally 


256  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

requiring  for  saturation  one,  two,  and  three  atoms  of  hydro- 
gen, as  that  three  isomeric  states  of  phosphoric  acid  should 
exist,  requiring  as  many  different  equivalents  of  basic  water. 

1.  The  attributes  of  acidity  alleged  to  be  due  altogether 
to  the  presence  of  basic  water,  are  not  seen  in  hydrated  acids, 
when  holding  water  in  that  form  only;  nor  in  such  as  are, 
like  the  oily  acids,  incapable  of  uniting  with  water  as  a  solvent. 
Further,  these  attributes  are  admitted  to  belong  to  salts  which, 
not  holding  water  as  a  base,  cannot  be  hydrurets  or  hydracids 
of  any  salt  radical;  and  while  such  attributes  are  found  in 
compounds  which,  like  chromic,  or  carbonic  acid,  cannot  be 
considered  as  hydrurets,  they  do  not  exist  in  all  that  merit  this 
appellation,  as  is  evident  in  the  case  of  prussic  acid,  or  oil 
of  bitter  almonds. 

m.  It  seems  to  have  escaped  attention,  that  if  SO4  be 
the  oxysulphion  of  sulphates,  SO3  anhydrous  sulphuric  acid, 
must  be  the  oxysulphion  of  the  sulphites ;  and  that  there  must, 
in  the  hyposulphites  and  hyposulphates,  be  two  other  oxy- 
sulphions.  • 

n.  The  electrolytic  experiments  of  Daniell  have  been 
erroneously  interpreted,  since  the  electrolysis  of  the  base  of 
sulphate  of  soda  would  so  cause  the  separation  of  sodium 
and  oxygen,  that  the  oxygen  would  be  attracted  to  the 
anode,  the  hydrogen  and  soda  being  indirectly  evolved  by 
the  reaction  of  sodium  with  water;  while  the  acid,  deprived 
of  its  alkaline  base,  would  be  found  at  the  anode  in  combina- 
tion with  basic  water,  without  having  been  made  to  act  in 
the  capacity  of  an  anion. 

o.  The  copper  in  the  case  of  a  solution  of  the  sulphate  of 
this  metal  and  a  solution  of  potash,  separated  by  a  mem- 
brane, would,  by  electrolyzation,  be  evolved  by  the  same 
process  as  sodium,  so  long  as  there  be  copper  to  perform  the 
office  of  a  cathion;  and  when  there  should  no  longer  be  any- 
copper  to  act  in  this  capacity,  the  metal  of  the  alkali,  or  hydro- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  257 

gen  of  water,  on  the  other  side  of  the  membrane,  would  act  as 
a  cathion;  the  oxygen  acting  as  an  anion  from  one  electrode 
to  the  other,  first  to  the  copper,  and  then  to  the  potassium. 

p.  The  allegation  that  the  copper  was  deposited  from 
the  want  of  an  anion  (oxysulphion)  to  combine  with,  is 
manifestly  an  error,  since,  had  there  been  an  anion,  there 
could  have  been  no  discharge,  as  alleged,  to  hydrogen  as  a 
cathion,  nor  any  electrolysis. 

q.  The  hydrated  oxide  precipitated  on  the  membrane, 
came  from  the  reaction  of  the  alkali  with  the  sulphate  of 
copper ;  the  precipitated  oxide  of  this  metal  from  the  oxygen 
of  the  soda  action  as  an  anion;  and  the  deposit  of  metallic 
copper  from  the  solutions  performing,  feebly,  the  part  of 
electrodes,  while  themselves  the  subjects  of  electrolyzation. 

r.  The  so  called  principles  of  Liebig,  by  which  his  theory 
of  organic  acids  is  preceded,  are  mainly  an  inversion  of  the 
truth,  since  they  make  the  capacity  of  saturation  of  hydrated 
acids  dependent  on  the  quantity  of  hydrogen  in  their  basic 
water,  instead  of  making  both  the  quantity  of  water,  and, 
of  course,  the  quantity  of  hydrogen  therein,  depend  on  their 
capacity. 

s.  All  that  is  truly  said  of  hydrogen,  would  be  equally 
true  of  any  other  radical,  while  the  language  employed  would 
lead  the  student  to  suppose  that  there  is  a  peculiar  associa- 
tion between  capacity  of  saturation,  and  presence  of  hydrogen. 

1.  Some  of  the  most  distinguished  European  chemists, 
encouraged  by  the  number  of  instances  in  which  the  existence 
of  hypothetical  radicals  has  been  rendered  probable,  have 
lately  inferred  the  existence  of  a  large  number  of  such  radi- 
cals in  a  most  important  class  of  bodies,  heretofore  considered 
as  compounds  of  acids  and  bases.  It  has  been  inferred,  for 
instance,  that  sulphur,  with  four  atoms  of  oxygen  (SO4) 
constitutes  a  compound  radical,  which  performs  in  hydrous 
sulphuric  acid,  the  same  part  as  chlorine  in  chlorohydric  acid. 

17 


258  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

2.  Graham  has  proposed  sulphatoxygen  as  a  name  for 
this  radical,  and  sulphatoxide  for  any  of  its  compounds. 
Daniell  has  proposed  oxysulphion  and  oxysulphionide  for 
the  same  purposes.    In  reasoning  on  the  subject  I  shall  use 
the  nomenclature  last  mentioned,  not,  however,  with  a  view 
to  sanction  it,  as  I  disapprove  altogether  of  this  innovation, 
and  deny  the  sufficiency  of  the  grounds  upon  which  it  has 
been  justified.    Consistently  with  the  language  suggested  by 
Daniell,  hydrous  sulphuric  acid,  constituted  of  one  atom  of 
acid  and  one  of  basic  water  (SO3  +  HO),  is  a  compound  of 
oxysulphion    and    hydrogen     (SO4  +  H).       Nitric    acid 
(NO5  +  H)    is  a  compound  of  oxynitrion  and  hydrogen 
(NO6  +  H5) .    In  like  manner  we  should  have  oxyphosphioii 
in  phosphoric  acid,  oxyarsenion  in  arsenic  acid,  and  in  all 
acids,  hitherto  called  hydrated,  whether  organic  or  inorganic, 
we  should  have  radicals  designated  by  names  made  after  the 
same  plan.     Their  salts  having  corresponding  appellations, 
would  be  oxysulphionides,  oxynitrionides,  &c.    Also,  in  any 
salt  in  which  any  other  of  the  amphigen  class  of  Berzelius  is 
the  electro-negative  ingredient,  whether  sulphur,  selenium, 
or  tellurium,  all  the  ingredients  excepting  the  electro-positive 
radical,  would  be  considered  as  constituting  a  compound 
electro-negative  radical. 

3.  It  may  be  expedient  to  take  this  opportunity  of  men- 
tioning that  the  advocates  of  this  new  view,  disadvanta- 
geously,  as  I  think,  employ  the  word  radical,  to  designate  the 
electro-positive  ingredient.    Agreeably  to  the  nomenclature 
of  Berzelius,  the  former  would  be  a  compound  halogen  body. 
Cyanogen  being  analogous,  is  by  him  placed  in  the  halogen 
class.    I  shall,  therefore,  in  speaking  of  ff  salt  radicals"  im- 
properly so  called,  employ  the  appellation  contrived  by  the 
great  Swedish  chemist. 

4.  Nevertheless  it  seems  to  be  conceded,  that  however 
plausible  may  be  the  reasons  for  inferring  the  existence  of 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  259 

halogen  bodies  in  the  amphide  salts,  it  would  be  inex- 
pedient to  make  a  corresponding  change  in  nomenclature, 
on  account  of  the  great  inconvenience  which  must  arise  from 
the  consequent  change  of  names. 

5.  Under  these  circumstances,  it  may  be  well  to  consider 
how  far  there  is  any  necessity  for  adopting  hypothetical 
views,  to  which  it  would  be  so  disadvantageous  to  accom- 
modate the  received  language  of  chemists.     In  the  strictures 
on  the  Berzelian  nomenclature,  which  drew  from  Berzelius 
the  suggestions  previously  given,  I  state  it  to  be  my  impres- 
sion that  water  should  be  considered  as  acting  in  some  cases 
as  an  oxybase,  in  others  as  an  oxacid;  and,  in  my  examination 
of  his  reply,  I  observed  that  hydrous  sulphuric  acid  might  be 
considered  as  a  sulphate  of  hydrogen,  and  that  when  this  add 
reacts  with  zinc  or  iron,  the  proneness  of  hydrogen  to  the 
aeriform  state  enables  either  metal  to  take  its  place,  agreeably 
to  the  established  laws  of  affinity. 

6.  There  appears  to  have  been  a  coincidence  of  opinion 
between  Kane,  Graham,  Gregory,  and  myself,  as  respects 
the  electro-positive  relation  of  hydrogen  to  the  amphigen 
and  halogen  elements,  which  I  have  designated  collectively 
as  the  basacigen  class;  also  in  the  impression  that  hydrogen 
acts  like  a  metallic  radical,  its  oxide,  water,  performing  the 
part  of  a  base.    I  agree  perfectly  with  Gregory  in  consider- 
ing that  hydrated  acids  may  be  considered  as  "  hydrogen 
salts."    But  when  the  learned  editor  proceeds  to  allege  that 
"  acids  and  salts,  as  respects  their  constitution,  will  form 
one  class,"  I  consider  him,  and  those  who  sanction  this  allega- 
tion, as  founding  an  error  upon  an  oversight.    Because  the 
salts  of  hydrogen,  or  such  as  have  water  for  their  base,  have 
heretofore  been  erroneously  called  acids,  we  are  henceforth 
to  confound  salts  with  acids,  and,  instead  of  correcting  one 
wrong  name,  cause  all  others  to  conform  thereto! 

7.  I  fully  concur  with  Gregory  and  Kane,  in  considering 


260  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

that  water  in  hydrous  sulphuric  acid,  in  nitric  acid,  chloric 
acid,  and  in  organic  acids,  generally  acts  as  a  base ;  also,  that 
in  this  basic  water  hydrogen  performs  a  part  perfectly  anal- 
ogous to  that  of  a  metallic  radical;  but,  agreeably  in  account- 
ing for  the  evolution  of  hydrogen,  as  suggested  in  the  quota- 
tion above  made  (6),  agreeably  to  which,  when  diluted  sul- 
phuric acid  reacts  with  zinc,  or  iron,  the  liberation  of  hydrogen 
results  from  the  superiority  of  the  forces  which  tend  to  insert 
either  of  these  metals  in  the  places  occupied  by  the  hydrogen, 
over  those  which  tend  to  retain  it  in  statu  quo. 

8.  When  oxide  of  copper  is  presented  to  chlorohydric  acid, 
it  is  inferred  that  the  hydrogen  unites  with  oxygen,  and  the 
chlorine  with  the  metal;  and  hence  it  seems  to  be  presumed, 
that  when  oxide  of  copper  is  combined  with  sulphuric  acid, 
a  similar  play  of  affinities  should  ensue;  but  would  it  be  rea- 
sonable to  make  this  a  ground  for  assuming  the  existence  of 
a  compound  radical,  when  the  phenomena  admit  of  another 
explanation  quite  as  simple  and  consistent  with  the  laws  of 
chemical  affinity? 

9.  Whether  hydrogen  be  replaced  by  zinc,  or  oxide  of 
hydrogen  by  oxide  of  copper,  cannot  make  any  material  dif- 
ference.   In  the  one  case,  a  radical  expels  another  radical, 
and  takes  its  place ;  in  the  other,  a  base  expels  another  base, 
and  takes  its  place. 

10.  There  can  be  no  difficulty,  then  in  understanding 
wherefore,  from  the  compound  of  sulphur  and  three  atoms 
of  oxygen,  and  an  atom  of  basic  water,  hydrogen  should  be 
expelled  and  replaced  by  zinc,  or  that  water  should  be  ex- 
pelled and  replaced  by  oxide  of  copper;  the  only  mystery  is 
in  the  fact,  that  SO3  as  anhydrous  sulphuric  acid,  will  not 
combine  with  hydrogen,  copper,  or  any  other  radical,  unless 
oxidized.    But  this  mystery  equally  exists  on  assuming  that 
an  additional  atom  of  oxygen  converts  SO3  into  oxysulphion, 
endowed  with  an  energetic  affinity  for  metallic  radicals,  to 
which  SO3  is  quite  indifferent. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  261 

11.  In  either  case,  an  inexplicable  mystery  exists;  but 
it  is,  in  the  one  case,  associated  with  an  hypothetical  change, 
in  the  other,  with  one  which  is  known  to  take  place. 

12.  But  if  hydrous  sulphuric  acid  is  to  be  assumed  to  be 
a  hydruret  of  a  compound  halogen  body  (oxysulphion),  be- 
cause it  evolved  hydrogen  on  contact  with  zinc,  wherefore  is 
not  water,  which  evolved  hydrogen  on  contact  with  potassium, 
sodium,  barium,  strontium,  or  calcium,  to  be  considered  as  a 
hydruret  of  oxygen,  making  oxygen  a  halogen  body? 

13.  Boldly  begging  the  question,  Graham  reasons  thus: 
"  The  chlorides  themselves  being  salts,  their  compounds  must 
be  double  salts" 

14.  But  if  the  chlorides  are  salts,  the  chloride  of  hydrogen 
is  a  salt ;  and  if  so,  wherefore  is  not  the  oxide  of  hydrogen  a 
salt,  which,  in  its  susceptibility  of  the  crystalline  form,  has  a 
salt  attribute  which  the  aeriform  chloride  does  not  possess? 

15.  Further,  if  the  oxide  of  hydrogen  be  a  salt,  every 
oxide  is  a  salt,  as  well  as  every  chloride.    Now,  controvert- 
ing the  argument  above  quoted,  by  analogous  reasoning,  it 
may  be  said,  ff  the  oocides  themselves  being  salts,  their  com- 
pounds are  double  salts"     Of  course  sulphate  of  potash  is 
not  a  sulphatoxide,  as  Graham's  ingenious  nomenclature 
would  make  it,  but  must  be  a  double  salt,  since  it  consists  of 
two  oxides  in  "  themselves  salts." 

16.  I  trust  that  sufficient  reasons  have  been  adduced,  to 
make  it  evident  that  the  common  result  of  the«  extrication  of 
hydrogen,  during  the  reaction  of  zinc  or  iron  with  sulphuric  or 
chlorohydric  acid,  if  not  a  competent  ground  for  assuming 
that  there  are,  in  amphide  salts,  "  compound  radicals  "  play- 
ing the  same  part  as  halogen  bodies. 

17.  Let  us,  in  the  next  place,  consider  the  argument  in 
favor  of  the  existence  of  such  radicals,  founded  on  the  simili- 
tude of  the  haloid  and  amphide  salts,  which  is  stated  by  Kane 
in  the  following  words: — 


262  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

"  It  had  long  been  remarked  as  curious,  that  bodies  so 
different  in  composition  as  the  compound  of  chlorine  with  a 
metal,  on  one  hand,  and  of  an  oxygen  acid  with  the  oxide  of 
the  metal  on  the  other,  should  be  so  similar  in  properties,  that 
both  must  be  classed  as  salts,  and  should  give  rise  to  a  series  of 
basic  and  acid  compounds,  for  the  most  part  completely 
parallel."  Elements  p.  681. 

18.  Upon  the  similitude  and  complete  parallelism  of  the 
amphide  and  haloid  salts,  thus  erroneously  alleged,  the  author 
proceeds  to  argue  in  favor  of  the  existence  in  the  former, 
of  compound  halogen  bodies,  analogous  in  their  mode  of 
combination  to  chlorine  or  iodine. 

19.  I  presume  it  will  be  granted,  that  if  similitude  in 
properties  be  a  sufficient  ground  for  inferring  an  analogy  in 
composition,  dissimilitude  ought  to  justify  an  opposite  in- 
ference.    And  that  if,  as  the  author  alleges,  certain  bodies 
have  been  classed  as  salts,  on  account  of  their  similarity  in 
this  respect,  when  dissimilar  they  ought  not  to  be  so  classed. 
Under  this  view  of  the  question,  I  propose  to  examine  how 
far  any  similitude  in  properties  exists  between  the  bodies 
designated  as  salts  by  the  author,  or  any  other  chemist. 

20.  The  salts,  hitherto  considered  as  compounds  of  acids 
and  bases,  are  by  Berzelius  called  amphide  salts,  being  pro- 
duced severally  by  the  union  with  one  or  the  other  of  his 
amphigen  class,  comprising  oxygen,  sulphur,  selenium,  and 
tellurium,  with  two  radicals,  with  one  of  which  an  acid  is 
formed,  with  the  other  a  base.     The  binary  compounds  of 
his  halogen  class,  comprising  chlorine,  bromine,  iodine,  flu- 
orine and  cyanogen,  are  called  by  him  haloid  salts.    I  shall 
use  the  names  thus  suggested. 

21.  Among  the  haloid  salts  we  have  common  salt  and 
Derbyshire  spar ;  the  gaseous  fluorides  and  chlorides  of  hydro- 
gen, silicon  or  boron ;  the  fuming  liquor  of  Libavius ;  the  acrid 
butyraceous  chlorides  of  zinc,  bismuth,  and  antimony ;  the  vol- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  263 

atile  chlorides  of  magnesium,  iron,  chromium,  and  mercury, 
and  the  fixed  chlorides  of  calcium,  barium,  strontium,  silver, 
and  lead;  the  volatile  poison  prussic  acid,  and  solid  poison 
bicyanide  of  mercury,  with  various  inert  cyanides  like  those  of 
Prussian  blue ;  likewise  a  great  number  of  ethereal  compounds. 

22.  Among  the  amphide  salts  are  the  very  soluble  sul- 
phates of  zinc,  iron,  copper,  soda,  magnesia,  &c.,  and  the  in- 
soluble stony  sulphates  of  baryta  and  strontia ;  also  ceruse  and 
sugar  of  lead ;  alabaster,  marble,  soaps,  ethers,  and  innumer- 
able stony  silicates  and  aluminates.  Last,  but  not  among  the 
least  discordant,  are  the  hydrated  acids,  and  alkaline  and 
earthy  hydrates. 

23.  When  the  various  sets  of  bodies,  above  enumerated, 
as  comprised  in  the  two  classes  under  consideration,  are  con- 
templated, is  it  not  evident  that,  not  only  between  several 
sets  of  haloid  and  amphide  salts,  but  also  between  several 
sets  in  either  class,  there  is  an  extreme  discordancy  in  prop- 
erties ;  so  that  making  properties  the  test,  would  involve  not 
only  that  various  sets  in  one  class  could  not  be  coupled  with 
certain  sets  in  the  other,  but,  also,  that  in  neither  class  could 
any  one  set  be  selected  as  exemplifying  the  characteristics 
of  a  salt,  without  depriving  a  majority  of  those  similarly 
constituted,  of  all  pretensions  to  the  saline  character? 

24.  Now,  if  among  the  bodies  above  enumerated,  some 
pairs  of  amphide  and  haloid  salts  can  be  selected,  which  make 
a  tolerable  match  with  respect  to  their  properties,  as  in  the 
case  of  sulphate  of  soda,  and  chloride  of  sodium,  while  in 
other  cases  there  is  the  greatest  discordancy,  (as  in  the  stony 
silicate  felspar,  and  the  gaseous  fluoride  fluosilicic  acid  gas; 
as  in  soap  and  Derbyshire  spar ;  as  in  marble  and  the  fuming 
liquor  of  Libavius,  the  sour  protochloride  of  tin,  and  sweet 
acetate  of  lead),  is  it  reasonable  to  found  an  argument  in 
favor  of  a  hypothetical  similitude  in  composition,  on  the 
resemblance  of  the  two  classes  in  properties?    Does  not  the 


264  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

extreme  dissimilitude  in  some  cases,  more  than  countervail 
the  limited  resemblance  in  others?  And  when  the  great 
variety  of  properties  displayed  both  by  the  amphide  and 
haloid  salts  is  considered,  is  it  a  cause  for  wonder  or  per- 
plexity, that  in  some  instances,  amphide  salts  should  be  found 
to  resemble  those  of  the  other  kind? 

25.  Again,  admitting  that  there  was  any  cause  for  per- 
plexity agreeably  to  the  old  doctrine,  is  there  less,  agreeably 
to  that  which  is  now  recommended?    Is  there  no  ground  for 
wonder  that  oxygen  or  sulphur  cannot  act  as  simple  halogen 
bodies?     By  what  rule  are  their  binary  compounds  to  be 
excluded  from  the  class  of  haloid  salts?    Wherefore  should 
chlorides,  bromides,  iodides,  and  fluorides,  however  antisaline 
in  their  properties,  be  considered  as  salts,  while  in  no  case 
is  an  oxide,  a  sulphide,  selenide  or  telluride  to  be  deemed 
worthy  of  that  name? 

26.  I  challenge  any  chemist  to  assign  any  good  reason 
wherefore  the  red  iodide  of  mercury  is  any  more  a  salt  than 
the  red  oxide,  or  the  protochloride  is  more  saline  than  the 
sulphide;  or  why  the  volatile  oxides  of  osmium  or  of  arsenic 
are  less  saline  than  horn  silver  or  horn  lead;  or  the  volatile 
chloride  of  arsenic,  than  the  comparatively  fixed  sulphides  of 
the  same  metal;  why  gaseous  chlorohydric  acid  is  more  saline 
than  steam  or  gaseous  oxhydric  acid. 

27.  It  much  surprises  me,  that  when  so  much  stress  is 
laid  upon  the  idea  of  a  salt,  the  impossibility  of  defining  the 
meaning  of  the  word  escapes  attention.    How  is  a  salt  to  be 
distinguished  from  any  other  binary  compound?    When  the 
discordant  group  of  substances  which  have  been  enumerated 
under  this  name  is  contemplated,  is  it  not  evident  that  no 
definition  of  them  can  be  founded  on  community  of  proper- 
ties? and,  by  the  advocates  of  the  new  doctrine,  composition 
has  been  made  the  object  of  definition,  instead  of  being  the 
basis;  thus,  agreeably  to  them,  a  compound  is  not  a  salt,  be- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  265 

cause  it  is  made  of  certain  elements;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
an  element,  whether  simple  or  compound,  belongs  to  the  class 
of  salt  radicals,  because  it  produces  a  salt.  Since  sulphur, 
with  four  atoms  of  oxygen,  SO4,  produces  a  salt  with  a  metal, 
it  must  be  deemed  a  salt  radical. 

28.  In  proof  that  the  double  chlorides  are  not  united  in 
a  way  to  justify  the  opinion  adopted  by  Bonsdorff,  Thom- 
son, myself,  and  others,  it  is  alleged  by  Graham,  "  that  in 
such  compounds  the  characters  of  the  constituent  salts  are 
very  little  affected  by  their  state  of  union." 

29.  This  allegation  being,  in  the  next  page,  admitted  to 
be  inapplicable  in  the  case  of  the  double  cyanides ;  an  effort  is 
made  to  get  over  this  obstacle,  by  suggesting  the  existence  of 
another  compound  radical.    But  the  allegation  of  the  author 
is  erroneous  as  respects  various  double  haloid  salts,  especially 
the  fluosilicates,  the  fluoborates,  fluozirconiates,  the  chloro- 
platinates,  chloriridiates,  chloroosmiates,  chloropalladiates, 
&c.,  all  of  them  compounds  in  which  the  constituent  fluorides 
and  chlorides  exist  in  a  state  of  energetic  combination,  by 
which  they  are  materially  altered  as  to  their  state  of  existence. 

30.  Evidently  the  word  salt  has  been  so  used,  or  rather 
so  abused,  that  it  is  impossible  to  define  it,  either  by  a  resort 
to  properties  or  composition;  and  I  conceive,  therefore,  that 
to  make  it  a  ground  of  abandoning  terms  which  are  suscep- 
tible of  definition,  and  which  have  long  been  tacitly  used  by 
chemists  in  general,  in  obedience  to  such  definition,  would  be 
a  (f  retrograde  movement  in  the  science"    I  hope  Dr.  Kane 
will  pardon  me  for  employing  the  language  to  which  he  has 
resorted,  in  speaking  of  the  opinions  of  Bonsdorff. 

31.  If  this  doctrine,  as  it  has  been  stated,  is  to  prevail,  I 
do  not  perceive  how  it  is  to  be  prevented  from  claiming  an 
inconvenient  extension.     The  hydrates,  as  well  as  the  sul- 
phates, must  have  pretensions  to  contain  salt  radicals.    Hence 
in  the  hydrated  alkalies  and  alkaline  earths,  there  would  be 


266  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

a  compound  radical,  consisting  of  hydrogen,  with  two  atoms 
of  oxygen,  hydroxion,  and  these  compounds  would  be  hy- 
droxionides;  nor  can  I  conceive  that  the  haloid  compounds, 
erroneously  called  double  salts,  but  more  correctly  consid- 
ered as  single  salts,  can  be  exempted. 

32.  Between  the  reaction  of  fluoboric  acid  with  fluobases, 
and    sulphuric  acid  with  oxybases,   is   there  not  a  great 
resemblance? 

33.  I  am  unable  to  understand  how,  if  the  existence  of 
salt  radicals  in  oxysalts  be  inferred,  the  other  salts  of  the 
amphigen  class  can  be  exempted  from  a  corresponding  in- 
ference.    But  if  the  existence  of  salt  radicals  in  the  double 
sulphides  be  admitted  can  it  be  consistently  denied  that  they 
exist  also  in  double  chlorides,  iodides,  &c.  ?    Is  there  not  the 
greatest  analogy  between  the  habitudes  of  sulphur,  selenium, 
and  tellurium,  with  metals,  and  those  of  the  halogen  bodies? 

34.  Would  not  the  modification  of  the  ethereal  oxysalts, 
to  comport  with  the  new  hypothesis,  be  disadvantageous, 
both  as  respects  our  mental  conception  of  those  compounds, 
and  the  names  which  would  be  rendered  appropriate?    Would 
not  the  transfer  of  the  oxygen  from  the  ethereal  oxide  to  the 
acid,  and  the  creation,  thus,  of  new  salt  radicals  for  the  organic 
acid  salts,  be  objectionable;  such  as  oxyoxalion  for  oxalates, 
oxytartarion  for  tartrates,  oxyacetion  for  acetates ;  while  for 
their  compounds,  we  should  have  oxyoxalionides,  oxytartari- 
onides,  oxyacetionides,  &c.? 

35.  If  sulphates  are  to  be  considered  as  oxysulphionides, 
by  what  names  are  we  to  designate  the  sulphites,  hyposul- 
phites, and  hyposulphates,  SO2,  S2O2,  S2O5  ?     SO3  may,  per- 
haps, with  more  propriety  be  considered  as  consisting  of  a 
compound  radical,  SO2,  and  oxygen,  forming  an  oxide  of 
sulphurous  acid ;  but  in  a  sulphite,  anhydrous  sulphuric  acid, 
SO 3  becomes  a  species  of  oxysulphion  itself,  being  as  much 
the  oxysulphion  of  the  sulphites,  as  SO4  is  of  the  sulphates. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  267 

Of  course  SO3  should  have  a  direct  affinity  for  radicals,  con- 
trary to  fact.  I  presume  that  sulphites  would  have  to  be  tri- 
oxysulphionides ;  hyposulphites,  sesquioxysulphionides ;  sul- 
phates, quadroxysulphionides ;  while  the  hyposulphates 
would,  I  suppose,  be  demiquintoxysulphionides ! ! ! 

36.  Analogous  complication  in  nomenclature  would  arise 
in  respect  to  the  nitrites  and  nitrates,  phosphites  and  phos- 
phates, arsenites  and  arseniates ;  also  as  respects  the  carbonic 
and  oxalic  acids. 

37.  It  is  true  that  nature  has  not  so  made  her  bodies  as 
that  they  can  be  separated  into  classes,  between  which  any 
distinct  line  can  be  drawn,  still  it  has  been  found  advantageous 
to  classify  them  to  the  best  of  our  power.    Accordingly  it 
appears  to  me  expedient,  in  the  first  place,  to  distinguish 
elements  (or  those  compounds  which  act  like  them)  accord- 
ing to  their  electro-chemical  relations  to  each  other,  or  their 
habitudes  with  the  voltaic  electrodes.    Consistently,  chemists 
have  tacitly  adopted  the  plan  of  treating  the  compounds 
formed  by  electro-negative  elements  with  anions,  as  acids; 
those  formed  with  cathions,  as  bases ;  while  the  combinations 
formed  by  the  union  of  such  acids  and  bases  have  been  con- 
sidered as  simple  salts.     Thus  four  classes  are  constituted, 
consisting  of  electro-negative  elements,  of  acids,  bases,  and 
single  salts,  while,  by  the  union  of  the  latter,  a  fifth  class  of 
double  salts  is  formed.    Whether  the  words  acid,  base,  and 
salt,  be  adhered  to,  objectionable  as  they  are  in  some  respects, 
and  especially  the  latter,  or  some  others  be  contrived,  it  would 
seem  to  me  disadvantageous  to  merge  them  in  one  name, 
pursuant  to  the  views  of  the  advocates  of  salt  radicals,  as 
stated  by  Gregory  in  his  edition  of  Turner's  Chemistry,  572. 

38.  The  objection,  that  not  being  electrolytes  the  relation 
of  acids  and  bases  to  the  voltaic  electrodes  cannot  be  dis- 
covered, is  easily  remedied;  since,  on  the  union  of  a  common 
ingredient  with  an  anion  and  a  cathion,  there  cannot  be  any 


268  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

doubt  that  the  resulting  compounds  will  have  the  same  electro- 
chemical relation  as  their  respective  heterogeneous  ingredi- 
ents; so  that,  with  the  anion,  an  acid  or  electro-negative  body 
will  be  formed;  with  the  cathion,  a  base  or  electro-positive 
body.  Moreover,  as  respects  organic  compounds  which  can- 
not be  subjected  to  the  electrolytic  test,  whatever  saturates  an 
inorganic  acid  must  be  a  base,  and  whatever  saturates  an  in- 
organic base  must  be  an  acid. 

39.  The  word  salt,  I  have  shown,  is  almost  destitute  of 
utility,  from  the  impossibility  of  defining  it,  and  the  ampli- 
tude of  its  meaning.     A  word  that  means  everything,  is  nearly 
as  useless  as  that  which  means  nothing. 

40.  As  respects  the  three  phosphates  of  water,  PO5  + 
HO,  PO5  +  2HO,  PO5  +  3HO,  the  argument  used  by  Dr. 
Kane  cuts  both  ways;  although,  by  its  employer,  only  that 
edge  is  noticed  which  suits  his  own  purpose.     It  is  alleged 
that  the  difference  of  properties,  in  these  phosphates,  is  totally 
inexplicable  upon  the  idea  of  three  degrees  of  "  hydration  "; 
but  that  all  difficulty  vanishes,  when  they  are  considered  as 
three  different  compound  salt  radicals,  oxyphosphionides  of 
hydrogen  PO6  +  H,  PO7  +  2H,  PO8  +  3H. 

41.  To  me  the  formation  of  three  compound  elements, 
by  the  reiterated  addition  of  an  atom,  of  which  five  of  the 
same  kind  were  previously  in  the  mass  to  which  the  addition 
is  made,  seems  more  anomalous,  mysterious,  and  improbable, 
than  the  existence  of  three  compounds  of  phosphoric  acid 
with  water,  in  which  the  presence  of  the  different  proportions 
of  water  is  the  consequence  of  some  change  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  elements,  which  is  referred  to  isomerism. 

42.  No  reason  can  be  given  why  the  addition  of  one,  two 
and  three  atoms  of  oxygen,  to  the  "  radical,"  should  convey 
a  power  to  hold  a  proportional  number  of  atoms  of  hydrogen. 
Such  an  acquisition  of  power  is  an  anomaly. 

43.  In  the  case  of  radicals  formed  with  hydrogen  in 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  269 

different  proportions,  as  in  acetyl  and  ethyl,  formyl  and 
methyl,  the  number  of  atoms  of  oxygen  in  the  peroxides,  is 
the  inverse  of  the  hydrogen  in  the  radical. 

44.  Ethyl,  C4H4,  unites,  at  most  with  one  atom  of  oxygen, 
while  acetyl,  C4H3,  takes  three  atoms  to  form  acetic  acid, 
C4H3O3.     Methyl,  C2H3,  forms,  in  like  manner,  only  a 
protoxide,  while  formyl,  C2H,  takes  three  atoms  to  constitute 
formic  acid. 

45.  Besides  the  three  oxyphosphions,  of  which  the  for- 
mulas are  above  stated,  there  would  have  to  be  another  in 
the  phosphites ;  so  that  instead  of  the  hydrated  acid,  or  phos- 
phite of  water,  being  PO3  +  HO,  it  would  have  to  be  PO4  + 
H,  a  fourth  oxyphosphionide  of  hydrogen. 

46.  Respecting  the  new  principles  which  I  have  been  con- 
testing, Dr.  Kane,  alleges  "  that  the  elegance  and  simplicity 
with  which  the  laws  of  saline  combination  may  be  traced  from 
them  is  remarkable,"  because  he  conceives,  that  without  an 
appeal  to  those  principles,  the  fact  that  the  number  of  equiva- 
lents of  acid  in  a  salt  are  portionable  to  the  number  of  equiva- 
lents of  oxygen  in  the  base,  would  be  inexplicable. 

47.  Thus,  when  the  base  is  a  protoxide,  we  have  one  atom 
of  the  protoxide  of  hydrogen  to  take  its  place;  when  the  base 
is  a  sesquioxide  (two  of  radical  and  three  of  oxygen),  three 
atoms  of  the  protoxide  of  hydrogen  take  its  place:  if  the 
base  be  a  bioxide,  two  atoms  of  the  protoxide  of  hydrogen 
take  its  place. 

48.  I  have  already  adverted  to  the  existence  of  certain 
chemical  laws,  inexplicable  in  the  present  state  of  human 
knowledge.     Among  these  is  that  of  the  necessity  of  oxida- 
tion to  enable  metallic  radicals  to  combine  with  acids.    But 
as  a  similar  mystery  exists  as  respects  the  adventitious  prop- 
erty of  combining  with  radicals,  which  results  from  the  ac- 
quisition of  an  additional  atom  of  oxygen  by  any  of  the  com- 
pounds hitherto  considered  as  anhydrous  acids,  the  new  doc- 
trine has  in  that  respect  no  pre-eminent  claim  to  credence. 


270  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

49.  But  if,  without  impairing  the  comparative  pretensions 
of  the  prevailing  doctrine,  we  may  appeal  to  the  fact  that  the 
acquisition  of  an  atom  of  oxygen  confers  upon  a  radical  the 
basic  power  to  hold  one  atom  of  acid,  is  it  not  consistent  that 
the  acquisition  of  two  atoms  of  oxygen  should  confer  the 
power  to  hold  two  atoms  of  acid,  and  that  with  each  further 
acquisition  of  oxygen  a  further  power  to  hold  acids  should  be 
conferred? 

50.  So  far  then  there  is  in  the  old  doctrine  no  more  in- 
scrutability than  in  that  which  has  been  proposed  as  its  suc- 
cessor.   Since  if  on  the  one  hand  it  be  requisite  that  for  each 
atom  of  oxygen  in  the  base,  there  shall  be  an  atom  of  acid  in 
any  salt  which  it  may  form,  on  the  other,  in  the  case  of  the 
three  oxyphosphions,  for  each  additional  atom  of  hydrogen 
extraneous  to  the  salt  radical,  there  must  be  an  atom  of  oxygen 
superadded  to  this  radical. 

51.  It  being  then  admitted  that,  numerically,  the  atoms 
of  acid  in  any  oxysalt  will  be  as  the  atoms  of  oxygen  in  the 
base,  it  must  be  evident  that  whenever  an  oxysalt  of  a  pro- 
toxide is  decomposed  by  a  bioxide,  there  will  have  to  be  two 
atoms  of  the  former  for  one  of  the  latter.    For  the  bioxide 
has  two  atoms  of  oxygen,  and  requires  by  the  premises  two 
atoms  of  acid,  while  the  salt  of  the  protoxide,  having  but  one 
atom  of  oxygen,  can  hold,  and  yield,  only  one  atom  of  acid. 
Two  atoms,  of  this  salt,  therefore,  whether  its  base  be  water, 
or  any  other  protoxide,  will  be  decomposed  by  one  atom  of 
bioxide ;  provided  the  affinity  of  the  acid  for  the  bioxide  pre- 
dominate over  that  entertained  for  the  protoxide,  as  when 
water  is  the  base. 

52.  It  follows,  that  the  displacement  of  water  from  its 
sulphate,  adduced  by  Kane,  does  not  favor  the  idea  that  hy- 
drous sulphuric  acid  is  an  oxysulphionide  of  hydrogen,  more 
than  the  impression  that  it  is  a  sulphate  of  water. 

53.  Of  course,  in  the  case  of  presenting  either  a  sesquioxide, 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  271 

or  a  trioxide,  to  the  last  mentioned  sulphate,  in  other  words, 
hydrous  sulphuric  acid,  the  same  rationale  will  be  applicable. 

54.  The  next  argument  advanced  by  Dr.  Kane,  is,  that 
some  of  the  acids  of  which  the  existence  is  assumed  upon  the 
old  doctrine,  are  hypothetical,  as  they  have  never  been  iso- 
lated.   This  mode  of  reasoning  may  be  made  to  react  against 
the  new  doctrine  with  pre-eminent  force,  since  all  of  the 
compound  radicals  imagined  by  it  are  hypothetical — none  of 
them  having  been  isolated. 

55.  The  third  argument  of  the  respectable  author  above 
named  is,  that  acids  display  their  acid  character  in  a  high 
degree  only  when  in  the  combination  with  water. 

56.  This  argument  should  be  considered  in  reference  to 
two  different  cases,  in  one  of  which  all  the  water  held  by  the 
acid  is  in  the  state  of  a  base,  while  in  the  other  an  additional 
quantity  is  present  acting  as  a  solvent.     So  far  as  water, 
acting  as  a  solvent,  facilitates  the  reaction  between  acids  and 
bases,  it  performs  a  part  in  common  with  alcohol,  ether,  vola- 
tile oils,  resins,  vitrifiable  fluxes,  and  caloric.     Its  efficacy 
must  be  referred  to  the  general  law,  that  fluidity  is  necessary 
to  chemical  reaction.    "  Corpora  non  agunt  nisi  soluta." 

57.  In  a  majority  of  cases,  basic  water,  unaided  by  an 
additional  portion  acting  as  a  solvent,  is  quite  incompetent 
to  produce  reaction  between  acids  and  other  bodies.    Neither 
between  sulphuric  acid  and  zinc,  between  nitric  acid  and 
silver,  nor  between  glacial  or  crystallized  acids  and  metallic 
oxides,  does  any  reaction  take  place  without  the  aid  of  water 
acting  as  a  solvent,  performing  a  part  analogous  to  that  which 
heat  performs  in  promoting  the  union  of  those  oxybases  with 
boric,  or  silicic  acid. 

58.  It  is  only  with  soluble  acids  that  water  has  any  efficacy. 
The  difference  between  the  energy  of  sulphuric  and  silicic 
acid,  under  the  different  circumstances  in  which  they  can 
reciprocally  displace  each  other,  is  founded  on  the  nature  of 


THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

the  solvents  which  they  require,  the  one  being  only  capable 
of  liquefaction  by  water,  the  other  by  caloric. 

59.  In  support  of  his  opinions  the  author  adverts  to  the 
fact,  that  with  hydrated  sulphuric  acid,  baryta  will  combine 
energetically  in  the  cold,  while  a  similar  union  between  the 
anhydrous  vapor  and  the  same  base  cannot  be  accomplished 
without  heat.    But  it  ought  to  be  recollected,  that  to  make 
this  argument  good,  it  should  be  shown  wherefore  heat  causes 
the  baryta,  a  perfectly  fixed  body,  to  unite  more  readily  with 
an  aeriform  substance  in  which  increase  of  temperature  must, 
by  rarefaction,  diminish  the  number  of  its  particles  in  con- 
tact with  the  solid.    If  the  only  answer  be,  that  heat  effects 
some  mysterious  changes  in  affinity,  (or  as  I  would  say,  in  the 
electrical  state  of  the  particles,)  it  should  be  shown  that  the 
presence  of  water  or  any  other  base  has  not  been  productive 
of  a  similar  change,  before  another  explanation  is  held  to  be 
necessary.    But  I  would  also  call  to  mind  that  the  hydrated 
acid  is  presented  in  the  liquid  state;  and  if  it  be  asked  why 
water,  having  less  affinity  than  baryta,  can  better  cause  the 
condensation  of  the  acid,  I  reply,  that  it  is  brought  into  con- 
tact with  the  acid  both  as  a  liquid  and  a  vapor,  of  neither  of 
which  forms  is  the  earthy  base  susceptible.    But  if  all  that  is 
necessary  to  convert  anhydrous  sulphuric  acid  into  an  oxy- 
sulphionide,  be  an  atom  of  oxygen  and  an  atom  of  metal, 
what  is  to  prevent  baryta  and  anhydrous  sulphuric  acid  from 
forming  an  oxysulphionide  of  barium?    All  the  elements  are 
present  which  are  necessary  to  form  either  a  sulphate  or  oxy- 
sulphionide; and  I  am  unable  to  conceive  wherefore  the  in- 
ability to  combine  does  not  operate  as  much  against  the  exist- 
ence of  radicals  as  of  bases. 

60.  I  would  be  glad  to  learn  why,  agreeably  to  the  salt 
radical  theory,  anhydrous  sulphuric  acid  unites  with  water 
more  greedily  than  with  baryta,  and  yet  abandons  the  water 
promptly  on  being  presented  to  this  base.     Why  should  it 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  273 

form  an  oxysulphionide  with  hydrogen  more  readily  than 
with  barium,  and  yet  display,  subsequently,  a  vastly  superior 
affinity  for  barium? 

61.  It  seems  to  be  overlooked,  that  anhydrous  sulphuric 
acid,  being  the  oxysulphion  of  the  sulphites,  ought  to  form 
sulphites  on  contact  with  metals. 

62.  But  if  the  sulphate  of  water  owe  its  energy  to  that  por- 
tion of  this  liquid,  which,  by  its  decomposition  gives  rise  to  the 
compound  radical  oxysulphion,  and  not  to  the  portion  which 
operates  as  a  solvent,  therefore  in  the  concentrated  state,  will 
it  not  react  with  iron  and  zinc,  without  additional  water,  when, 
with  dilution,  it  reacts  most  powerfully  with  those  metals? 

63.  Some  stress  has  been  laid  upon  the  fact,  that  sourness 
is  not  perceived,  excepting  with  the  aid  of  water,  as  if  to 
derive  force  for  the  new  doctrine  from  that  old  and  popular, 
though  now  abandoned,  test  of  acidity ;  but  it  should  be  recol- 
lected that  it  is  not  the  water,  which  goes  to  form  the  com- 
pound element  in  the  "  hydracids,"  erroneously  so  called, 
which  confers  sourness.     Will  any  one  pretend  that  either 
sulphuric  or  nitric  acid,  when  concentrated,  is  sour?    Are  they 
not  caustic?  Can  any  of  the  crystallized  organic  acids  be  said 
to  have  a  sour  taste,  independently  of  the  moisture  of  the 
tongue?  The  hydrated  oily  acids  being  incapable  of  uniting 
with  water  as  a  solvent,  have  none  of  these  vulgar  attributes 
of  acidity.    The  absence  of  these  attributes  in  prussic  acid 
would  alone  be  sufficient  to  render  it  inconsistent  to  consider 
them  as  having  any  connexion  with  the  presence  of  hydrogen. 

64.  It  has  been  remarked,  that  liquid  carbonic  acid  does 
not  combine  with  oxides  on  contact.    To  this  I  would  add, 
that  it  does  not  combine  with  water  under  those  circum- 
stances, but,  on  the  contrary,  separates  from  it  like  oil,  after 
mechanical  mixture;  nor  does  it,  under  any  circumstances, 
unite  with  an  equivalent  proportion  of  water  to  form  a  hy- 
drate.   Of  course,  as  it  is  not  to  basic  water  that  it  is  indebted 

18 


274  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

for  its  ability  to  become  an  ingredient  in  salts,  it  cannot  be 
held  that  this  faculty  is  the  result  of  its  previous  conversion 
into  an  oxycarbionide  of  hydrogen. 

65.  Chromic  acid  is  admitted  not  to  require  water  for 
isolation,  and  cannot,  therefore,  be  considered  as  oxychrom- 
ionide  of  hydrogen.     Yet  the  oil  of  bitter  almonds,  which 
consists  of  a  compound  radical,  benzule,  and  an  atom  of  hy- 
drogen, and  which  is  therefore  constituted  precisely  as  the 
salt  radical  doctrine  requires  for  endowment  with  the  attri- 
butes of  an  "hydracid,"  is  utterly  destitute  of  that  acid  reac- 
tion which  hydrogen  is  represented  as  peculiarly  competent  to 
impart.    It  follows  that  we  have,  on  the  one  hand,  in  chromic 
acid,  a  compound  endowed  with  the  attributes  of  acidity, 
without  being  a  hydruret  of  any  compound  radical ;  and,  on 
the  other,  in  oil  of  bitter  almonds,  a  hydruret  of  a  compound 
radical,  without  any  of  the  attributes  of  acidity. 

66.  The  last  argument  in  favor  of  the  existence  of  salt 
radicals,  which  I  have  to  answer,  is  that  founded  on  certain 
results  of  the  electrolysis  of  saline  solutions. 

67.  On  subjecting  a  solution  of  sulphate  of  soda  to  elec- 
trolysis, so  as  to  be  exposed  to  the  current  employed,  simul- 
taneously with  some  water  in  a  voltameter,  Daniell  alleges 
that,  for  each  equivalent  of  the  gaseous  elements  of  water 
evolved  in  the  voltameter,  there  was  evolved  at  the  cathode 
and  anode,  not  only  a  like  quantity  of  those  elements,  but 
likewise  an  equal  number  of  equivalents  of  soda  and  sul- 
phuric acid.     This  he  considers  as  involving  the  necessity, 
agreeably  to  the  old  doctrine,  of  the  simultaneous  decom- 
position of  two  electrolytic  atoms,  in  the  solution,  for  one  in 
the  voltameter;  while,  if  the  solution  be  considered  as  hold- 
ing oxysulphionide  of  sodium,  instead  of  sulphate  of  soda,  the 
result  may  be  explained  consistently  with  the  law  ascertained 
by  Faraday.    In  that  case,  oxysulphion  would  be  carried  to 
the  anode,  where  combining  with  hydrogen,  it  would  cause 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  275 

oxygen  to  be  extricated,  while  sodium,  carried  to  the  cathode, 
deoxidizing  water,  would  cause  the  extrication  of  hydrogen. 

68.  Dr.  Kane,  alluding  to  the  experiments  above  men- 
tioned, and  some  others  which  I  shall  mention,  alleges  that 
ff  Professor  Daniell  considers  the  binary  theory  of  salts  to  be 
fully  established  by  them!' 

69.  Notwithstanding  the  deference  which  I  have  for  the 
distinguished  inventor  of  the  constant  battery,  and  disin- 
clination for  the  unpleasant  task  of  striving  to  prove  a  friend 
to  be  in  the  wrong,  being  of  opinion  that  these  inferences  are 
erroneous,  I  feel  it  to  be  my  duty,  as  a  teacher  of  the  science, 
to  show  that  they  are  founded  upon  a  misinterpretation  of 
the  facts  appealed  to  for  their  justification. 

70.  It  appears  to  me,  that  the  simultaneous  appearance 
of  the  elements  of  water,  and  of  acid  and  alkali,  at  the  elec- 
trodes, as  above  stated,  may  be  accounted  for,  simply  by 
that  electrolyzation  of  the  soda,  which  must  be  the  natural 
consequence  of  the  exposure  of  the  sulphate  of  that  base  in 
the  circuit.    I  will  in  support  of  the  exposition  which  I  am 
about  to  make,  quote  the  language  of  Professor  Daniell,  in 
his  late  work,  entitled,  "  Introduction  to  Chemical  Philoso- 
phy," page  413 : 

"  Thus  we  may  conceive  that  the  force  of  affinity  receives 
an  impulse  which  enables  the  hydrogen  of  the  first  particle 
of  water,  which  undergoes  decomposition,  to  combine  momen- 
tarily with  the  oxygen  of  the  next  particle  in  succession ;  the 
hydrogen  of  this  again,  with  the  oxygen  of  the  next ;  and  so 
on  till  the  last  particle  of  hydrogen  communicates  its  impulse 
to  the  platinum,  and  escapes  in  its  own  elastic  form." 

71.  The  process  here  represented  as  taking  place  in  the 
instance  of  the  oxide  of  hydrogen,  takes  place,  of  course,  in 
that  of  any  other  electrolyte. 

72.  It  is  well  known,  that  when  a  fixed  alkaline  solution 
is  subjected  to  the  voltaic  current,  that  the  alkali,  whether 


276  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

soda  or  potassa,  is  decomposed;  so  that  if  mercury  be  used 
for  the  cathode,  the  nascent  metal,  being  protected  by  uniting 
therewith,  an  amalgam  is  formed.  If  the  cathode  be  of  plat- 
inum, the  metal,  being  unprotected,  is,  by  decomposing  water, 
reconverted  into  an  oxide  as  soon  as  evolved.  This  shows, 
that  when  a  salt  of  potassa  or  soda  is  subjected  to  the  voltaic 
current,  it  is  the  alkali  which  is  the  primary  object  of  attack, 
the  decomposition  of  the  water  being  a  secondary  result. 

73.  If  in  a  row  of  the  atoms  of  soda,  extending  from 
one  electrode  to  the  other,  while  forming  the  base  of  a  sul- 
phate, a  series  of  electrolytic  decompositions  be  induced  from 
the  cathode  on  the  right,  to  the  anode  on  the  left,  by  which 
each  atom  of  sodium  in  the  row  will  be  transferred  from  the 
atom  of  acid  with  which  it  was  previously  combined,  to  that 
next  upon  the  right,  causing  an  atom  of  the  metal  to  be 
liberated  at  the  cathode;  this  atom,  deoxidizing  water,  will 
account  for  the  soda  and  hydrogen  at  the  cathode.    Mean- 
while the  atom  of  sulphate  on  the  left,  which  has  been  de- 
prived of  its  sodium,  must  simultaneously  have  yielded  to  the 
anode  the  oxygen  by  which  this  metal  was  oxidized.  Of  course 
the  acid  is  left  in  the  hydrous  state,  usually  called  free,  though 
more  correctly  esteemed  to  be  that  of  a  sulphate  of  water. 

74.  I  cannot  conceive  how  any  other  result  could  be  ex- 
pected from  the  electrolysis  of  the  base  of  sulphate  of  soda, 
than  that  which  is  here  described.     Should  any  additional 
illustration  be  requisite,  it  will  be  found  in  a  note  subjoined. 

75.  I  will,  in  the  next  place,  consider  the  phenomena  ob- 
served by  Professor  Daniell,  when  solutions  of  potassa  and 
sulphate  of  copper,  separated  by  a  membrane,  were  made  the 
medium  of  a  voltaic  current. 

76.  Of  these  I  here  quote  his  own  account  (Philosophical 
Magazine  and  Journal,  vol.  xvii,  p.  172) : 

"A  small  glass  bell,  with  an  aperture  at  top,  had  its  mouth 
closed  by  tying  a  piece  of  thin  membrane  over  it.     It  was 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  277 

half  filled  with  a  dilute  solution  of  caustic  potassa,  and  sus- 
pended in  a  glass  vessel  containing  a  strong  neutral  solution 
of  sulphate  of  copper,  below  the  surface  of  which  it  just 
dipped.  A  platinum  electrode,  connected  with  the  last  zinc 
rod  of  a  large  constant  battery  of  twenty  cells,  was  placed  in 
the  solution  of  potassa;  and  another,  connected  with  the  cop- 
per of  the  first  cell,  was  placed  in  the  sulphate  of  copper 
immediately  under  the  diaphragm  which  separated  the  two 
solutions.  The  circuit  conducted  very  readily,  and  the  action 
was  very  energetic.  Hydrogen  was  given  off  at  the  platinode 
in  a  solution  of  potassa,  and  oxygen  at  the  zincode  in  the  sul- 
phate of  copper.  A  small  quantity  of  gas  was  also  seen  to  rise 
from  the  surface  of  the  diaphragm.  In  about  ten  minutes  the 
lower  surface  of  the  membrane  was  found  beautifully  coated 
with  metallic  copper,  interspersed  with  oxide  of  copper  of  a 
black  color,  and  hydrated  oxide  of  copper  of  a  light  blue. 

"  The  explanation  of  these  phenomena  is  obvious.  In 
the  experimental  cell  we  have  two  electrolytes  separated  by 
a  membrane,  through  both  of  which  the  current  must  pass 
to  complete  its  circuit.  The  sulphate  of  copper  is  resolved 
into  its  compound  anion,  sulphuric  acid  +  oxygen  (oxysul- 
phion),  and  its  simple  cathion,  copper:  the  oxygen  of  the 
former  escapes  at  the  zincode,  but  the  copper  on  its  passage  to 
the  platinode  is  stopped  at  the  surface  of  the  second  elec- 
trolyte, which  for  the  present  we  may  regard  as  water  im- 
proved in  its  conducting  power  by  potassa.  The  metal  here 
finds  nothing  by  combining  with  which  it  can  complete  its 
course,  but  being  forced  to  stop,  yields  up  its  charge  to  the 
hydrogen  of  the  second  electrolyte,  which  passes  on  to  the 
platinode,  and  is  evolved. 

"  The  corresponding  oxygen  stops  also  at  the  diaphragm, 
giving  up  its  charge  to  the  anion  of  the  sulphate  of  copper. 
The  copper  and  oxygen  thus  meeting  at  the  intermediate 
point,  partly  enter  into  combination,  and  form  the  black 


278  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

oxide;  but  from  the  rapidity  of  the  action,  there  is  not  time 
for  the  whole  to  combine,  and  a  portion  of  the  copper  remains 
in  the  metallic  state,  and  a  portion  of  the  gaseous  oxygen 
escapes.  The  precipitation  of  blue  hydrated  oxide  doubtless 
arose  from  the  mixing  of  a  small  portion  of  the  two  solutions." 

77.  It  will  be  admitted,  that  agreeably  to  the  admirable 
researches  of  Faraday,  there  are  two  modes  in  which  a  voltaic 
current  may  be  transmitted,  conduction  and  electrolyzation. 
In  order  that  it  may  pass  by  the  mentioned  process,  there 
must  be  a  row  of  anions  and  cathions  forming  a  series  of 
electrolytic  atoms  extending  from  the  cathode  to  the  anode. 
It  is  not  necessary  that  these  atoms  should  belong  to  the 
same  fluid.    A  succession  of  atoms,  whether  homogeneous, 
or  of  two  kinds,  will  answer,  provided  either  be  susceptible  of 
electrolyzation.    Both  of  the  liquids  resorted  to  by  Daniell, 
contained  atoms  susceptible  of  being  electrolyzed.     If  his 
idea  of  the  composition  of  sulphate  of  copper,  and  the  part 
performed  by  the  potassa,  were  admitted  for  the  purpose  of 
illustration,  we  should,  on  one  side  of  the  membrane,  have  a 
row  of  atoms  consisting  of  oxysulphion  and  copper;  on  the 
other,  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen. 

78.  Recurring  to  Daniell's  own  description  of  the  elec- 
trolyzing  process,  above  quoted,  an  atom  of  copper  near  the 
anode  being  liberated   from  its   anion,   oxysulphion,    and 
charged  with  electricity,  seizes  the  next  atom  of  oxysulphion, 
displacing  and  charging  an  atom  of  copper  therewith  united. 
The  cupreous  atom  thus  charged  and  displaced,  seizes  a  third 
atom  of  oxysulphion,  subjecting  the  copper,  united  with  it, 
to  the  same  treatment  as  it  had  itself  previously  met  with. 
This  process  being  repeated  by  a  succession  of  similar  decom- 
positions and  recompositions,  an  electrified  atom  of  copper  is 
evolved  at  the  membrane,  where  there  is  no  atom  of  oxysul- 
phion. Were  there  no  other  anion  to  receive  the  copper,  evi- 
dently the  electrolyzation  would  not  have  taken  place;  but  oxy- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  279 

gen  on  the  one  side  of  the  membrane,  must  succeed  to  the  office 
performed  by  oxysulphion  on  the  other  side ;  while  hydrogen, 
in  like  manner,  must  succeed  to  the  office  of  the  copper. 

79.  Such  being  the  inevitable  conditions  of  the  process, 
how  can  it  be  correctly  alleged  by  Professor  Daniell,  the 
transfer  of  the  copper  being  arrested  at  the  membrane,  that 
as  this  metal  "  can  find  nothing  to  combine  with"  it  gives  up 
its  electrical  charge  to  the  hydrogen,  which  proceeds  to  the 
cathode?    As  hydrogen  cannot  be  present,  excepting  as  an 
ingredient  in  water,  how  can  it  be  said  that  the  copper  can 
discharge  itself  upon  the  hydrogen,  without  combining  with 
the  oxygen  necessarily  liberated  at  the  same  time  by  the 
electrolytic  process?    How  could  the  copper,  in  discharging 
itself  to  a  cathion,  escape  a  simultaneous  seizure  by  an  anion? 
Would  not  the  oxidizement  of  this  metal  be  a  step  indis- 
pensable to  the  propagation  of  that  electrolytic  process,  by 
which  alone  the  hydrogen  could  as  alleged,  "pass  to  the 
platinode,"  i.e.,  cathode? 

80.  In  these  strictures  I  am  fully  justified  by  the  fol- 
lowing allegations  of  Faraday,  which  I  quote  from  his  Re- 
searches, 826,  828: 

"A  single  ion,  i.e.,  one  not  in  combination  with  another, 
will  have  no  tendency  to  pass  to  either  of  the  electrodes,  and 
will  be  perfectly  indifferent  to  the  passing  current,  unless  it 
be  itself  a  compound  of  more  elementary  ions,  and  so  subject 
to  actual  decomposition." 

"  If,  therefore,  an  ion  pass  towards  one  of  the  electrodes, 
another  ion  must  also  be  passing  simultaneously  to  the  other 
electrode,  although,  from  secondary  action,  it  may  not  make 
its  appearance." 

81.  In  explanation  of  the  mixed  precipitates  produced 
upon  the  membrane,  I  suggest  that  the  hydrated  oxide  re- 
sulted from  chemical  reaction  between  the  alkali  and  the 
acid,  the  oxide  from  the  oxygen  of  the  water  or  potassa  acting 


280  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

as  a  cathion  in  place  of  that  of  the  oxide  of  copper :  also  that 
the  metallic  copper  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  solutions  acting 
both  as  conductors  and  as  electrolytes;  so  that,  at  the  mem- 
brane, two  feeble  electrodes  were  formed,  which  enabled  a 
portion  of  the  copper  to  be  discharged  without  combining 
with  an  anion,  and  a  portion  of  oxygen  to  be  discharged 
without  uniting  with  a  cathion.  In  this  explanation  I  am 
supported  by  the  author's  account  of  a  well  known  experi- 
ment by  Faraday,  in  which  a  solution  of  magnesia  and  water 
was  made  to  act  as  electrodes  at  their  surfaces  respectively. 

82.  There  can,  I  think,  be  no  better  proof  that  no  reliance 
should  be  placed  on  the  experiments  with  membranes,  in  this 
and  other  cases,  where  the  existence  of  compound  radicals 
in  acids  is  to  be  tested,  than  the  error  into  which  an  inves- 
tigator, so  sagacious  as  my  friend  Professor  Daniell,  has 
been  led,  in  explaining  the  complicated  results. 

83.  The  association  of  two  electrolytes,  and  the  chemical 
reaction  between  the  potassa  and  acid,  which  is  admitted  to 
have  evolved  the  hydrated  oxide,  seem  rather  to  have  created 
difficulties  than  to  have  removed  them. 

84.  In  this  view  of  the  subject,  I  am  supported  by  the 
opinion  of  Faraday,  as  expressed  in  the  following  language : 

"  When  other  metallic  solutions  are  used,  containing,  for 
instance,  peroxides,  as  that  of  copper  combined  with  this  or 
any  decomposable  acid,  still  more  complicated  results  will  be 
obtained,  which,  viewed  as  the  direct  results  of  electro-chem- 
ical action,  will,  in  their  proportions,  present  nothing  but  con- 
fusion; but  will  appear  perfectly  harmonious  and  simple,  if 
they  be  considered  as  secondary  results,  and  will  accord  in 
their  proportions  with  the  oxygen  and  hydrogen  evolved 
from  water  by  the  action  of  a  definite  quantity  of  electricity." 

85.  I  cannot  conceive,  that  in  any  point  of  view  the 
complicated  and  "  confused "  results  of  the  experiment  of 
Daniell  with  electrolytes  separated  by  membranes,  are  ren- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  281 

dered  more  intelligible  by  supposing  the  existence  of  salt 
radicals.  I  cannot  perceive  that  the  idea  that  the  anion  in 
the  sulphate  is  oxysulphion,  makes  the  explanation  more 
satisfactory  than  if  we  suppose  it  to  be  oxygen.  Were  a  solu- 
tion of  copper  subjected  to  electrolysis  alone,  if  the  oxide  of 
copper  were  the  primary  object  of  the  current,  the  result 
would  be  analogous  to  the  case  of  sodium,  excepting  that  the 
metal  evolved  at  the  cathode,  not  decomposing  water,  would 
appear  in  the  metallic  form.  If  water  be  the  primary  object  of 
attack,  the  evolution  of  copper  would  be  a  secondary  effect. 

86.  It  is  remarkable,  that  after  I  had  written  the  preced- 
ing interpretation  of  Daniell's  experiments,  I  met  with  the 
following  deductions  stated  by  Matteucci,  as  the  result  of 
an  arduous  series  of  experiments,  without  any  reference  to 
those  of  Daniell  above  mentioned.    It  will  be  perceived  that 
these  deductions  coincided  perfectly  with  mine. 

87.  I  subjoin  a  literal  translation  of  the  language  of 
Matteucci  from  the  Annales  de  Chemie  et  de  Physique,  tome 
74,  1849,  page  110: 

"  When  salt,  dissolved  in  water,  is  decomposed  by  the 
voltaic  current,  if  the  action  of  the  current  be  confined  to 
the  salt,  for  each  equivalent  of  water  decomposed  in  the 
voltameter,  there  will  be  an  equivalent  of  metal  at  the  nega- 
tive pole,  and  an  equivalent  of  acid,  plus  an  equivalent  of 
oxygen,  at  the  positive  pole.  The  metal  separated  at  the 
negative  pole  will  be  in  the  metallic  state,  or  oxidized,  accord- 
ing to  its  nature.  If  oxidized,  an  equivalent  of  hydrogen 
will  be  simultaneously  disengaged  by  the  chemical  decom- 
position of  water." 

88.  Thus,  it  seems,  that  the  appearance  of  acid  and  oxy- 
gen at  the  anode,  and  of  alkali  and  hydrogen  at  the  cathode, 
which  has  been  considered  as  requiring  the  simultaneous  de- 
composition of  two  electrolytes  upon  the  heretofore  received 
theory  of  salts,  has,  by  Matteucci,  been  found  to  be  a  result 


282  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

requiring  the  electrolysis  of  the  metallic  base  only,  and, 
consequently,  to  be  perfectly  reconcilable  with  that  theory. 

89.  In  fact  I  had,  from  the  study  of  Faraday's  Researches, 
taken  up  the  impression  that  the  separate  appearance  of  an 
acid  and  base,  previously  forming  a  salt,  at  the  voltaic  elec- 
trodes, was  to  be  viewed  as  a  secondary  effect  of  the  decom- 
position of  the  water  or  the  base;  so  that  acids  and  bases  were 
never  the  direct  objects  of  electrolytic  transfer. 

Of  Liebig's (f  Principles''  so  called. 

90.  Under  the  head  of  the  "  theory  of  organic  acids,"  in 
Liebig's  Treatise  on  Organic  Chemistry,  we  find  the  follow- 
ing allegations  dignified  by  the  name  of  principles.     Mani- 
festly they  must  tend  to  convey  a  false  impression  to  the 
student,  that  hydrogen  has  a  peculiar  property  of  creating  a 
capacity  for  saturation,  instead  of  being  only  the  measure  of 
that  capacity,  as  is  actually  true,  and  likewise  that  in  this 
respect  it  differs  from  any  other  radical. 

91.  The  allegations  to  which  I  refer  are  as  follows,  being 
a  literal  translation  from  the  French  copy  of  the  Traite  of 
Liebig,  page  7 : 

"  The  hydrated  acids  are  combinations  of  one  or  more 
elements  with  hydrogen,  in  which  the  latter  may  be  replaced 
wholly  or  in  part  by  equivalents  of  metals. 

"  The  capacity  of  saturation  depends  consequently  on 
the  quantity  of  hydrogen  which  can  be  replaced. 

"  The  compound  formed  by  the  other  elements  being 
considered  as  a  radical,  it  is  evident  that  the  composition  of 
this  radical  can  exercise  no  influence  on  the  capacity  of 
saturation. 

"  The  capacity  of  saturation  of  these  acids  augments  or 
diminishes  in  the  same  ratio  as  the  quantity  of  hydrogen,  not 
entering  into  the  salt  radical,  augments  or  diminishes. 

"  If  into  the  composition  of  the  salt  radical  there  should 
be  introduced  an  undetermined  quantity  of  any  element 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  283 

without  changing  the  quantity  of  hydrogen  extraneous  to 
the  radical,  the  atomic  weight  of  the  acid  would  be  augmented, 
but  the  capacity  of  saturation  would  remain  the  same." 

92.  As  by  the  advocates  of  the  existence  of  "  salt  radi- 
cals," hydrogen  is  considered  as  playing  the  part  of  a  metallic 
radical,  and  must,  therefore,  as  respects  any  relation  between 
it  and  the  capacity  of  saturation,  be  in  the  same  predica- 
ment as  any  other  electro-positive  radical,  I  cannot  conceive 
wherefore  laws,  which  affect  every  other  body  of  this  kind, 
should  be  stated  as  if  particularly  associated  with  hydrogen. 

93.  Would  not  a  more  comprehensive  and  correct  idea 
be  presented  by  the  following  language? 

94.  From  any  combination  of  an  acid  with  a  base,  either 
the  base  or  its  radical  may  be  replaced  by  any  other  radical 
or  base,  between  which  and  the  other  elements  present,  there 
is  a  higher  affinity.     Of  course  from  acids  called  hydrated, 
from  their  holding  an  atom  of  basic  water,  either  this  base, 
or  its  radical   (hydrogen),  may  be  replaced  by  any  other 
competent  base  or  radical. 

95.  The  premises  being  manifestly  fallacious,  still  more 
so  is  the  subsequent  allegation,  that  in  consequence  of  the 
hydrated  acids  being  compounds  formed  with  hydrogen,  their 
capacity  of  saturation  depends  on  the  quantity  of  this  ele- 
ment which  can  be  replaced. 

96.  Is  not  this  an  inversion  of  the  obvious  truth,  that  the 
quantity  of  hydrogen  present  is  as  the  capacity  of  saturation; 
and  that,  of  course,  the  quantity  of  any  element  which  can  be 
substituted  for  it,  must  be  in  equivalent  proportion?  Would 
not  a  student,  from  this,  take  up  two  erroneous  ideas — first, 
that  the  capacity  of  saturation  is  conferred  by  the  radical, 
and  in  the  next  place,  that  of  all  radicals,  hydrogen  alone  can 
give  such  a  capacity?    Is  it  not  plain,  that  the  assertion  here 
made  by  the  celebrated  author,  would  be  true  of  any  radical  ? 

97.  Passing  over  a  sentence  which  has  no  bearing  on  the 


284  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

topic  under  discussion,  in  the  fourth  allegation  we  have  a 
reiteration  and  expansion  of  the  error  of  those  by  which  it 
is  preceded.  We  are  informed  that  the  "capacity  of  satura- 
tion augments  and  diminishes  with  the  quantity  of  hydrogen 
which  can  be  replaced"  which  is  again  an  inversion  of  the 
truth,  that  the  quantity  of  hydrogen  varying  with  the  ca- 
pacity, the  quantity  of  any  other  radical,  competent  to  replace 
it,  must  be  in  equivalent  proportion. 

98.  Is  not  the  concluding  allegation  a  mere  truism,  by 
which  we  are  informed,  "  that  if  any  undetermined  quantity 
of  any  element  should  be  introduced  into  the  composition  of 
the  radical,  without  changing  the  capacity  (as  measured  by 
hydrogen),  the  capacity  would  be  found  the  same  when 
measured  by  any  other  radical  "  ? 

99.  As  all  that  is  thus  ascribed  to  hydrogen  must  be 
equally  true  of  any  other  radical,  there  would  have  been 
less  liability  to  misapprehension,  had  the  generic  term  radical 
been  employed  wherever  hydrogen  is  mentioned.     But  by 
employing  the  word  radical  to  designate  halogen  elements, 
the  advocates  of  the  existence  of  compound  radicals  in  am- 
phide  salts  have  deprived  the  word  in  question  of  most  of 
its  discriminating  efficacy.    In  fact,  their  nomenclature  would 
confound  all  ultimate  elements  under  one  generic  appella- 
tion, and  all  their  binary  combinations  under  another,  so 
that  almost  every  chemical  reagent,  whether  simple  or  com- 
pound, would  be  a  salt  or  a  radical. 

100.  Before  concluding,  I  feel  it  to  be  due  to  the  cele- 
brated German  Chemist  above  mentioned,  to  add,  that  how- 
ever I  may  differ  from  him  as  to  the  acids  being  hydrurets 
of  compound  radicals,  I  am  fully  disposed  to  make  acknowl- 
edgments for  the  light  thrown  by  his  analytical  researches 
on  organic  chemistry,  and  the  successful  effect  of  his  ingenious 
theoretic  speculations,  in  rendering  the  science  more  an  ob- 
ject of  study  with  physicians  and  agriculturists." 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  285 

And  Wolcott  Gibbs  (1843)  wrote: 

"  Dr.  Hare  has  brought  forward  a  number  of  powerful 
arguments  against  the  doctrine  of  compound  salt-radicals, 
which  has  recently  made  great  progress  among  European 
chemists,  and  at  present  threatens  to  subvert  all  established 
theories  and  nomenclature,  and  to  erect  the  superstructure 
of  chemical  science  upon  a  foundation  apparently  far  too 
unsubstantial  to  support  its  gigantic  proportions  and  rapidly 
increasing  weight.  This  theory  sets  out  from  a  principle 
very  different  from  any  which  chemists  have  been  hitherto 
accustomed  to  admit,  and  which  would  seem  to  be  involved 
in  a  philosophical  idea  of  the  province  and  objects  of  chem- 
istry, while  it  aims  at  explaining  a  few  superficial  resem- 
blances in  purely  physical  properties,  by  making  a  total 
change  in  the  chemical  constitution  of  those  substances  be- 
tween which  such  resemblances  exist,  as  well  as  of  innumer- 
able others  which  display  in  their  physical  relations  far  more 
striking  discordances.  Thus  the  physical  similarity  between 
the  chlorides,  iodides,  &c.,  of  the  alkaline  and  earthy  metals, 
and  the  sulphates,  nitrates  and  other  oxysalts  of  the  same 
metallic  radicals,  is  made  the  basis  of  a  total  change  in  our 
views  of  the  chemical  constitution  of  all  salts  whatever,  while 
the  much  more  remarkable  and  more  widely  extended  dif- 
ferences between  other  members  of  the  same  classes  of  com- 
pounds, so  forcibly  urged  and  so  clearly  illustrated  by  Dr. 
Hare,  are  left  entirely  unnoticed  or  swallowed  up  in  the 
sweeping  assertion  that  the  salts  of  the  simple  haloid  type, 
and  the  salts  composed  of  amphacids  and  amphibases,  form 
a  series  of  basic  and  acid  compounds  for  the  most  part  com- 
pletely parallel. 

The  principal  arguments  which  have  been  brought  for- 
ward in  favor  of  the  salt-radical  theory,  which  is  in  part  based 
upon  this  assumed  parallelism,  have  been  ably  discussed  by 
Dr.  Hare  in  the  preceding  memoir." 


286  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

In  what  was  probably  his  final  letter  to  Berzelius,  Hare 

said: 

"  Philadelphia,  May,  1845. 

''Esteemed  Sir, — I  am  extremely  grateful  to  you  for 
the  good  will  which  has  induced  you  to  occupy  so  much  of 
your  valuable  time  and  attention  in  answering  my  letters, 
and  regret  that  I  have  not  succeeded  in  so  expressing  myself, 
whether  in  French  or  English,  as  to  make  you  comprehend 
my  opinions.  I  shall  begin  to  think  that  in  theoretic  elucida- 
tion, as  well  as  in  physical  illumination,  it  may  be  more  diffi- 
cult to  make  luminous  impressions  on  bodies,  in  proportion 
as  they  are  themselves  pre-eminently  the  sources  of  light. 

In  your  letter  of  the  25th  of  February,  1844,  you  de- 
scribe my  opinion  of  a  salt  in  the  following  words,  "  Vous 
fondez  1'idee  d'un  sel  uniquement  sur  la  composition  sans 
egard  aux  proprietes,  vous  ne  considerez,  comme  un  sel  que 
ce  qui  est  compose  d'un  combinaison  binaire  appellee  base 
et  un  autre  combinaison  binaire  appellee  acide.  Les  sels 
dit  haloide,  ne  sont  pas,  d'apres  vous,  des  sels,  puis  qu'ils  ne 
sont  dompose  que  de  deux  elements  et  ne  contienent  ni  base 
ni  acide."  That  this  account  of  my  opinion  is  erroneous  must 
appear  from  the  following  language,  held  in  my  letter  to 
Professor  Silliman,  which  first  gave  rise  to  our  correspond- 
ence on  the  subject  of  nomenclature  (p.  221). 

On  reperusing  the  passages  which  I  have  thus  annexed, 
you  will  perceive,  that  I  have  treated  as  absurd  the  idea  of  re- 
stricting our  conception  of  a  salt  to  a  compound  formed  of  an 
amphide  acid  and  an  amphide  base,  and  that  I  have  denounced 
that  of  depriving  the  chloride  of  sodium  of  its  appropriate 
name,  and  eliminating  from  the  class  of  salts  compounds 
analogous  to  this  chloride  in  composition  and  properties. 

In  the  following  paragraphs,  taken  from  my  (f  Effort  to 
refute  the  arguments  advanced  in  favor  of  the  existence,  in 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  287 

amphide  salts,  of  a  compound  radical  like  cyanogen/'  I  have 
objected  to  the  employment  of  the  word  salt  as  a  corner- 
stone of  any  scientific  superstructure.  ff  27.  It  much  sur- 
prises me,  that  when  so  much  stress  is  laid  upon  the  idea  of  a 
salt,  the  impossibility  of  defining  the  meaning  of  the  word 
escapes  attention.  How  is  a  salt  to  be  distinguished  from 
any  other  binary  compound?  When  the  discordant  group 
of  substances  which  have  been  enumerated  under  this  name, 
is  contemplated,  is  it  not  evident  that  no  definition  of  them 
can  be  founded  on  community  of  properties?  and,  by  the 
advocates  of  the  new  doctrine,  composition  has  been  made 
the  object  of  definition,  instead  of  being  the  basis.  Thus 
agreeably  to  them,  a  compound  is  not  a  salt,  because  it  is  made 
of  certain  elements;  but,  on  the  contrary,  an  element,  whether 
simple  or  compound,  belongs  to  the  class  of  salt  radicals, 
because  it  produces  a  salt.  Since  sulphur,  with  four  atoms 
of  oxygen,  SO4,  produces  a  salt  with  a  metal,  it  must  be 
deemed  a  salt  radical. 

"  Evidently  the  word  salt  has  been  so  used,  or  rather  so 
abused,  that  it  is  impossible  to  define  it,  either  by  a  resort  to 
properties  or  composition;  and  I  conceive,  therefore,  that  to 
make  it  a  ground  of  abandoning  terms  which  are  susceptible 
of  definition,  and  which  have  long  been  tacitly  used  by  chem- 
ists in  general,  in  obedience  to  such  definition,  would  be  a 
retrograde  movement  in  science" 

On  perusing  the  preceding  passages,  you  must  perceive 
that  the  difference  between  us,  is  not,  that  while  you  would 
build  upon  one  idea  of  a  salt,  I  would  build  upon  another; 
it  lies,  on  my  part,  in  the  rejection,  as  a  basis  of  nomenclature 
or  classification,  of  a  word,  so  vaguely  used,  and  so  undefin- 
able  as  that  in  question. 

As  respects  another  misapprehension,  it  never  occurred 
to  me,  that  binary  haloid  compounds  were  less  entitled  to  be 
considered  as  salts,  on  account  of  their  having  no  more  than 


288  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

two  elements.  The  tendency  of  my  opinions  has  been  to  con- 
sider the  chloride  of  sodium,  as  the  basis  of  the  saline  genus 
and  to  object  to  the  treatment  of  any  body  as  a  salt,  which  has 
not  some  analogy  with  it  in  properties,  if  not  in  composition. 

The  feature  in  your  nomenclature  and  classification  which 
is  most  discordant  with  that  which  I  have  proposed,  is  the  dis- 
tinction which  you  have  attempted  to  make  between  the  binary 
compounds  formed  by  halogen  bodies  with  electro-positive 
radicals  and  those  formed  with  the  same  radicals  by  amphigen 
bodies.  I  cannot  conceive  upon  what  ground  the  former, 
for  the  most  part,  are  more  worthy  of  being  considered  as 
salts  than  the  latter;  nor  whereupon  the  amphide  compounds 
resulting  in  the  one  case,  are  to  be  considered  as  acids  or  bases, 
according  to  their  relation  to  the  voltaic  poles,  more  than  are 
the  haloid  compounds  resulting  in  the  other. 

Your  nomenclature  and  your  classification  are  founded 
on  the  words  acid,  salt,  and  base,  and  yet  you  have  not  given 
any  consistent  definition  of  the  ideas  to  be  attached  to  either. 
These  words  have  been  shown  to  be  employed  by  you  in  dif- 
ferent senses,  whether  as  respects  composition  or  properties. 

On  this  subject  you  will  find  the  following  comments  in 
my  letter  to  Professor  Silliman  above  quoted : 

"An  attempt  to  reconcile  the  definition  of  acidity  given  by 
Prof.  Berzelius,  with  the  sense  in  which  he  uses  the  word  acid, 
wittj  in  my  apprehension,  increase  the  perplexity.  It  is 
alleged  in  his  Traite,  page  1,  Vol.  II,  '  that  the  name  of  add 
is  given  to  silica  and  other  feeble  acids,  because  they  are  sus- 
ceptible of  combining  with  the  oxides  of  electro-positive 
metals,  that  is  to  say  with  saKfiable  bases,  and  thus  to  produce 
salts,  which  is  precisely  the  principal  character  of  acids/ 
Again,  Vol.  I,  page  308,  speaking  of  the  halogene  elements, 
he  declares  that  *  their  combinations  with  hydrogen,  are  not 
only  acids,  but  belong  to  a  series  the  most  puissant  that  we 
can  employ  in  chemistry;  and  in  this  respect  they  rank  as 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  289 

equals  with  the  strongest  of  the  acids,  into  which  oxygen 
enters  as  a  constituent  principle.'  And  again,  Vol.  II,  page 
162,  when  treating  of  hydracids  formed  with  the  halogene 
class,  he  alleges, '  The  former  are  very  powerful  acids,  truly 
acids,  and  perfectly  like  the  oxacids;  but  they  do  not  combine 
with  salifiable  bases;  on  the  contrary,  they  decompose  them 
and  produce  haloid  salts/ 

"  In  this  paragraph,  the  acids  in  question  are  represented 
as  pre-eminently  endowed  with  the  attributes  of  acidity,  while 
at  the  same  time  they  are  alleged  to  be  destitute  of  his  ' prin- 
cipal character  of  acids/  the  property  of  combining  with 
salifiable  bases. 

"  On  page  41  of  the  same  volume,  treating  of  the  acid 
consisting  of  two  volumes  of  oxygen  and  one  of  nitrogen, 
considered  by  chemists  generally  as  a  distinct  acid,  Berzelius 
uses  the  following  language: '  If  I  have  not  coincided  in  their 
view,  it  is  because,  judging  by  what  we  know  at  present, 
the  acid  in  question  cannot  combine  with  any  base,  either 
directly  or  indirectly ;  that  consequently  it  does  not  give  salts, 
and  that  salifiable  bases  decompose  it  always  into  nitrous  acid 
and  nitric  oxide  gas.  It  is  not  then  a  distinct  acid,  and  as 
such  ought  not  to  be  admitted  into  the  nomenclature.' ' 

I  suggested  a  definition  here  subjoined,  which  is  founded 
upon  your  one  electro-chemical  classification,  and  which  is 
no  more  than  an  enunciation  of  a  rule  acted  upon,  and  con- 
sequently sanctioned  tacitly  by  yourself,  and  all  other  chem- 
ists. The  definition  in  its  amended  form,  as  given  in  my 
text-book,  is  as  follows: 

fc  When  of  two  substances  capable  of  combining  together 
to  form  a  tertium  quid,  and  having  an  ingredient  common  to 
both,  one  prefers  the  positive,  the  other  the  negative  pole  of 
the  voltaic  series,  we  must  deem  the  former  an  add,  the  latter 
a  base;  also,  any  body  capable  of  saturating  an  acid,  as  above 
defined,  is  a  base,  and  any  body  capable  of  saturating  a  base 
as  above  defined,  is  an  add  "  (p.  243) . 

19 


290  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

It  follows  that  agreeably  to  the  nomenclature  proposed 
by  Faraday,  every  acid  is  an  "  anion,"  every  base  a  "  cathion." 

But  to  proceed  to  another  part  of  the  letter,  which  I 
have  had  the  honor  to  receive  from  you,  it  is  there  alleged 
that  although  ff  nitrate  calcique"  (nitrate  of  lime)  is  a  deli- 
quescent salt,  while  fluor  spar  is  a  stone,  you  class  them  to- 
gether because  they  have,  in  common,  the  property  of  yield- 
ing with  sulphuric  acid  gypsum  and  a  free  acid.  But  allow 
me  respectfully  to  inquire  how,  consistently  with  your  system, 
sulphuric  acid  can  extricate  a  free  acid  from  fluoride  of 
calcium?  By  your  own  premises  fluoride  of  calcium  is  a  salt, 
then  wherefore  is  not  the  fluoride  of  hydrogen  a  salt?  If  it 
be  a  salt,  where  is  the  analogy  between  the  reaction  of  the 
sulphuric  acid  with  the  nitrate  of  lime  and  the  fluor?  In  the 
former  case  sulphuric  acid  liberates  an  acid  by  a  superior 
affinity  for  a  base  already  existing;  in  the  latter  case,  by 
causing  the  oxygen  of  its  combined  water  to  unite  with  cal- 
cium, it  generates  a  base  and  afterwards  combines  with  it; 
and,  while  decomposing  one  fluoride,  gives  rise  to  another. 
In  the  instance  of  the  nitrate,  one  amphide  salt  is  replaced 
by  another  amphide  salt,  while  an  acid  is  liberated;  in  the 
instance  of  the  fluoride,  an  haloid  salt  is  replaced,  both  by  an 
amphide  salt  and  another  haloid  compound.  As,  according 
to  your  system,  this  compound  consists  of  a  halogen,  or  salt- 
generating  body,  combined  with  a  radical,  it  should  be  treated 
as  a  simple  salt. 

If,  as  you  stated  in  your  Traite,  an  ability  to  combine  with 
bases  be  an  essential  attribute  of  acidity,  how  can  the  fluoride 
of  hydrogen  be  an  acid,  unless  my  view  of  the  question  be 
admitted,  agreeably  to  which  the  electro-negative  fluorides 
are  fluacids,  the  electro-positive  fluorides,  fluobases,  while 
the  compound  of  a  fluacid  and  fluobase  is  a  salt,  at  least  as 
much  as  feldspar,  or  marble.  With  what  other  base  than 
a  fluobase,  can  the  fluoride  of  hydrogen  unite  as  an  acid,  so 
as  to  fulfil  the  conditions  of  your  definition? 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  291 

I  am  prevented  from  supposing  that  by  adopting  the  salt 
radical  theory,  you  would  rest  the  analogy  of  the  cases  cited, 
on  the  existence  of  a  compound  radical  oxynitrion,  in  the 
nitrates,  because  in  your  letter  of  the  15th  of  September,  you 
allege,  that  you  prefer  to  consider  oxysalts  as  consisting  of  two 
oxides.  Besides,  I  hope  you  will  consider  the  arguments  which 
I  have  advanced  against  that  theory,  as  unanswerable. 

But  admitting  the  existence  of  oxynitrion  in  the  nitrates, 
wherefore  should  not  fluorine  in  fluacids,  play  the  same  part 
as  oxygen  in  oxacids.  If  a  compound  radical  be  formed  when 
two  oxides  come  together,  wherefore  should  there  not  be  a 
compound  radical  formed  by  the  meeting  of  two  fluorides? 
If  in  the  one  case,  all  the  oxygen  goes  to  form  a  compound 
radical,  in  the  other  ought  not  all  the  fluorine  to  perform  an 
analogous  part?  Hence  if  on  the  one  hand  we  admit  the 
existence  of  oxynitrion,  on  the  other  we  must  admit  that  of 
fluohydrogenion. 

It  will  be  conceded  that  there  is  a  great  analogy  between 
the  acid  haloid  compounds  of  hydrogen  erroneously  named 
hydracids,  and  those  formed  by  the  same  radical  with  sulphur, 
selenium,  and  tellurium.  I  have  designated  the  three  last, 
and  likewise  water,  when  acting  as  an  acid,  as  amphydric 
acids,  while  I  have  designated  the  haloid  hydracids  so  called, 
as  halohydric  acids;  founding  these  appellations  on  your 
words  amphigen  and  halogene.  Can  it  be  imagined  that 
although  when  either  of  the  amphydric  acids,  sulphydric  acid 
for  instance,  is  presented  to  a  corresponding  amphide  com- 
pound, sulphide  of  potassium  for  instance,  that  a  compound 
radical  is  generated,  so  that  the  formula  of  the  resulting  sul- 
pho-salt  is  to  be  HS2P,  and  yet  that  when  fluohydric  acid 
is  presented  to  the  fluoride  of  potassium,  there  being  no  gen- 
eration of  a  radical,  the  formula  of  the  resulting  compound 
is  to  be  FH  +  FP  — . 

You  consider  it  as  an  objection  that  I  must  class  the  oxide 


THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

of  sodium  with  the  chloride  and  sulphide  of  the  same  metal, 
notwithstanding  the  diversity  of  their  properties;  but  how 
can  this  be  a  consistent  objection,  when,  according  to  your 
nomenclature,  the  chloride  of  sodium  is  classed  not  only  with 
the  fuming  liquor  of  Libavius,  the  butyraceous  and  volatile 
chlorides,  which  though  analogous  in  composition  differ  from 
it  in  properties  extremely,  but  also  with  feldspar,  gypsum, 
glass,  and  marble,  which  are  utterly  different  from  it  in  com- 
position, as  well  as  in  properties? 

If  in  the  case  of  the  nitrate  of  lime  and  fluorspar  we  are 
to  overlook  that  the  latter  is  a  stone,  the  former  a  deliques- 
cent salt,  in  consideration  of  the  alleged  community  of  results 
obtained  by  reaction  with  sulphuric  acid,  let  us  subject  the 
sulphide  and  chloride  of  sodium  to  the  same  test.  Do  we 
not  obtain  from  either,  sulphate  of  soda  and  a  free  acid? 
Is  there  not  a  much  greater  analogy  between  chlorohydric 
acid  and  sulphydric  acid,  than  between  the  nitric  acid  and  the 
fluoride  of  hydrogen?  Under  this  aspect  can  it  be  reasonable 
to  class  together  the  nitrate  of  lime  and  fluor  spar  as  simple 
salts,  and  yet  exclude  the  sulphides  of  the  same  class?  Are 
not  the  sulphides  more  analogous  to  the  chlorides  and  fluorides 
than  the  nitrates,  in  the  very  Traite  to  which  you  have  re- 
ferred? I  allude  to  the  evolution  from  either  by  reaction 
with  sulphuric  acid  of  a  like  base  and  of  one  of  the  acids 
improperly  called  hydracids. 

It  is  considered  as  objectionable  that  chloride  of  sodium, 
a  neutral  salt  "  par  excellence,"  should  be  deemed  a  base. 
But  I  would  ask,  whence  originated  the  nominal  neutrality 
of  this  chloride;  did  it  not  spring  from  the  old  abandoned 
notion  of  its  consisting  of  muriatic  acid  and  oxide  of  sodium? 
That  it  is  a  salt  par  excellence,  I  admit,  but  deny  that  it  is  a 
neutral  salt  agreeably  to  the  idea  associated  with  the  term 
neutral  as  applied  to  the  sulphates  of  potash  and  the  sul- 
phate of  soda,  in  contradistinction  to  the  acid  bisulphates  of 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  293 

these  bases.  That  it  is  neutral  or  inert,  as  respects  its  re- 
agence  with  vegetable  colors,  ought  not,  as  I  conceive,  any 
more  to  be  an  objection  to  its  claims  to  the  basic  character, 
than  the  like  inertness  is  an  objection  to  the  basic  pretensions 
of  the  oxides  of  the  metals  proper,  among  which  very  few,  if 
any,  have  any  alkaline  reaction.  This  is  more  properly  a  test 
of  alkalinity  than  of  basidity. 

Since  water,  alumina,  and  some  other  oxides,  are  consid- 
ered as  capable  severally  of  acting  as  an  acid  in  some  com- 
pounds and  as  a  base  in  others,  wherefore  may  not  the  same 
substance  have  the  attributes  of  a  salt  in  one  case,  and  yet  in 
others  act  as  a  base?  Which  is  the  most  remote  from  the 
character  of  a  base,  is  it  the  salt  or  the  acid? 

I  am  obliged  to  you  for  the  information  given  at  the  close 
of  your  letter.  I  do  not  know  whether  you  have  ever  met 
with  the  account  given  in  the  Bulletin  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  American  Philosophical  Society,  of  my  success  in  fusing 
pure  rhodium  and  iridium,  by  the  hydro-oxygen  blowpipe. 

I  have  been  for  sometime  endeavoring  to  perfect  some 
new  methods  of  analyzing  organic  substances  by  burning 
them  in  oxygen  gas. 

With  highest  esteem,  I  am  yours  sincerely, 

ROBERT  HARE." 

"  On  this  subject  the  following  remarks  were  made  in  my 
letter  on  your  nomenclature  above  referred  to:  'In  common 
with  eminent  chemists  Prof.  Berzelius  has  distinguished  acids 
in  which  oxygen  is  the  electro-negative  principle  as  ooeadds, 
and  those  in  which  hydrogen  is  a  prominent  ingredient  as 
hydracids.  If  we  look  for  the  word  radical,  in  the  table  of 
contents  in  his  invaluable  treatise,  we  are  referred  to  page  218, 
volume  first,  where  we  find  the  following  definition,  "the  com- 
bustible  body  contained  in  an  acid,  or  in  a  salifiable  base,  is 
called  the  radical  of  the  acid  or  of  the  base" * 

"  In  the  second  volume,  page  163,  hydracids  are  defined  to 


294  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

be  '  those  acids,  which  contain  an  electro-negative  body,  com- 
bined with  hydrogen  ' ;  and  on  the  next  page  it  is  stated,  that 
6  hydracids  are  divided  into  those  which  have  a  simple  radical, 
and  those  which  have  a  compound  radical.  The  second  only 
comprises  those  formed  with  cyanogen  and  sulphocyanogen.' 
Again  in  the  next  paragraph,  '  no  radical  is  known  that 
gives  more  than  one  acid  with  hydrogen,  although  sulphur 
and  iodine  are  capable  of  combining  with  it  in  many  pro- 
portions. If  at  any  future  day  more  numerous  degrees  of 
acidification  with  hydrogen,  should  be  discovered,  their  de- 
nomination might  be  founded  on  the  same  principles  as  those 
of  oxacids.'  Consistently  with  these  quotations,  all  the  elec- 
tro-negative elements  forming  acids  with  hydrogen,  are 
radicals  and  of  course  by  the  definition  of  Prof.  Berzelius, 
combustibles;  while  hydrogen  is  made  to  rank  with  oxygen 
as  an  acidifying  principle,  and  is  consequently  neither  a  radi- 
cal nor  a  combustible.  Yet  page  189,  volume  second,  in 
explaining  the  reaction  of  fluoboric  acid  with  water,  in  which 
case  fluorine  unites  with  hydrogen  and  boron,  it  is  mentioned 
as  one  instance  among  others  in  which  fluorine  combines  with 
two  combustibles. 

"  I  am  of  opinion  that  the  employment  of  the  word  hy- 
dracid  as  co-ordinate  with  oxacid,  must  tend  to  convey  that 
erroneous  idea,  with  which,  in  opposition  to  his  own  definition, 
the  author  seems  to  have  been  imbued,  that  hydrogen  in  the 
one  case  plays  the  same  part  as  oxygen  in  the  other.  But  in 
reality  the  former  is  eminently  a  combustible,  and  of  course 
is  the  radical  by  his  own  definition." 

Perhaps  at  this  point  we  may  with  advantage  retrace  our 
steps  to  observe  other  activities  of  Hare's  life.  For  instance, 
his  visit  to  England  (1836)  is  not  recorded.  But  from  the 
following  letters  we  may  gather  some  idea  in  regard  to  it. 
He  must  have  been  happy  when  in  Dalton's  company,  and 
it  can  be  imagined  that  their  conversation  never  lacked  for 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  295 

real  earnest  and  important  topics.  It  is  also  beautiful  to 
note  that,  at  this  time,  as  at  all  other  times,  he  made  it  a  point 
to  advise  his  friend  Silliman  of  his  experiences. 

He  informed  Silliman  that  he  mentioned,  in  his  address 
before  the  British  Association,  the  mode  he  pursued  in  fusing 
platinum ;  his  recommendation  of  the  use  of  a  nitrite  in  pre- 
paring nitrous  ether;  his  observation  of  "  a  species  of  ether 
different  from  the  usual  ether  "  arising  on  exposing  a  nitrite 
to  the  action  of  alcohol  and  diluted  sulphuric  acid;  the  de- 
position of  carbon  when  olefiant  gas  is  inflamed  with  insuffi- 
cient oxygen ;  the  formation  of  peculiar  products  on  inflaming 
the  aqueous  elements  in  the  presence  of  an  essential  oil,  all 
of  which  pointed  to  sources  of  error  in  gas  analysis  experi- 
ments; and  sent  him  the  following  letter: 

"  Philadelphia,  August  30th,  1837. 
"My  dear  Friend: 

On  the  16th  of  this  month,  I  sent  to  the  venerable  and 
celebrated  Dalton,  as  chairman  of  the  chemical  section  of  the 
British  Association,  a  letter  of  which  I  now  send  you  an 
extract.  My  motive  for  publishing  this  extract  in  your 
Journal,  is  my  impression  that  I  owe  it  to  you  and  others  of 
my  scientific  countrymen  to  communicate  the  facts  which  I 
have  stated  to  men  of  science  in  the  mother  country,  and  that 
I  owe  to  the  latter  a  more  public  acknowledgment  than  I 
have  yet  made,  of  the  grateful  recollection  which  I  entertain 
of  the  kindness  with  which  I  was  received  at  their  meeting  at 
Bristol.  This  I  am  convinced,  was  intended  as  a  mark  of 
regard,  not  merely  to  me  as  an  individual,  but  to  American 
cultivators  of  science  in  general,  of  whom  I  was  considered 
as  a  representative. 

The  Marquis  of  Northampton,  who  presided,  stated  to 
me  that  if  there  were  others  of  my  scientific  countrymen 
present,  he  wished  to  be  made  acquainted  with  them,  as  he 
felt  that  it  would  be  his  duty  to  pay  them  attention. 


S96  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

As  respects  myself,  I  was  received  more  like  an  old  ac- 
quaintance than  as  a  stranger.  I  was  invited  to  a  seat  next  the 
Vice  President  at  the  dinner,  where  I  believe  about  four  hun- 
dred of  the  members  were  present,  and  requested  to  sit  as  a 
member  of  the  committee  of  the  chemical  section.  On  every 
occasion,  I  was  treated  with  great  deference  and  kindness. 

In  the  extract  sent  you,  I  have  omitted  some  parts  of 
my  letter  to  Dr.  Dalton,  as  they  referred  to  facts  already 
published  in  the  number  of  the  Franklin  Journal  for  July. 

I  am  faithfully  yours, 
To  Prof.  Silliman."  ROBERT  HARE/' 

To  John  Dalton,  Esq.,  Chairman  of  the  Section  on  Chem- 
istry of  the  British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science : 
"  Dear  Sir-  "  philadelPhia»  August  14,  1837. 

I  beg  leave  through  you  to  communicate  to  the  British 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  that  by  an 
improvement  in  the  method  of  constructing  and  supplying 
the  hydro-oxygen  blowpipe,  originally  invented  by  me  in 
the  year  1801,  I  have  succeeded  in  fusing  into  a  malleable 
mass  more  than  three  fourths  of  a  pound  of  platina.  In  all, 
I  fused  more  than  two  pounds  fourteen  ounces  into  four 
masses,  averaging  of  course  nearly  the  weight  above  men- 
tioned. I  see  no  difficulty  in  succeeding  with  much  larger 
weights.  The  benefit  resulting  from  this  process  is  in  the 
facility  which  it  affords  of  using  platina  scraps  or  old  platina 
ware  into  lumps,  from  which  it  may  be  remodeled  into  new 
apparatus.8 

8  I  have,  since  this  statement  was  made,  been  led  to  believe  that 
fused  platina  will  be  free  from  a  fault  to  which  Wollaston's  platina  is 
more  or  less  liable,  accordingly  as  the  process  is  more  or  less  skilfully 
managed.  The  fault  to  which  I  allude  is  that  of  scaling  when  ex- 
tended under  the  hammer  in  order  to  form  a  crucible  or  capsule.  I 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  297 

The  largest  lumps  were  fused  agreeably  to  my  original 
plan  of  keeping  the  gases  in  different  receptacles  and  allow- 
ing them  to  meet  during  efflux.  I  have,  however,  operated 
in  the  large  way  upon  the  plan  contrived  and  employed  by 
Newman,  Brooke,  Clarke  and  others,  having  used  at  one 
operation  nearly  thirty  gallons  of  the  mixture  of  the  gaseous 
elements  of  water. 

This  I  was  enabled  to  do  with  safety  by  an  improvement 
in  Hemming's  safety  tube.  With  this  improved  plan,  I  have 
allowed  the  gas  to  explode,  as  far  into  the  tube  of  efflux  as 
the  point  where  the  contrivance  in  question  was  interposed, 
at  least  a  hundred  times  without  its  extending  beyond  it.  Still, 
however,  the  other  mode  in  which  the  gases  are  separate  until 
they  meet  in  passing  out  of  their  respective  receptacles,  is 
less  pregnant  with  anxiety,  if  not  with  risk.  As  these  ele- 
ments are  known  to  explode  by  the  presence  of  several  metals, 
other  mysterious  causes  of  explosion  may  be  discovered. 

How  much  do  I  regret,  that  an  ocean  now  rolls  between 
myself  and  those  respected  and  esteemed  brethren  in  science 
whom  this  time  last  year  I  had  the  pleasure  to  meet  and  greet 
at  Bristol,  and  to  whom  I  shall  ever  be  grateful  for  their  kind 
reception.  How  much  would  it  gratify  me,  could  I  exhibit 
to  them  and  their  enlightened  visitors,  that  splendid  concen- 
tration of  light  and  heat  which  I  have  latterly  employed,  by 
which  a  metal  infusible  in  the  air  furnace  or  forge,  is  made 
as  fluid  as  mercury,  so  as  to  be  blown  off  in  globules. 

With  the  highest  esteem,  I  am  respectfully  yours, 

ROBERT  HARE." 

had  a  platina  dish  of  nine  ounces  in  which  many  scales  existed.     By 
fusion,  this  tendency  in  the  metal  appeared  to  be  corrected. 

During  the  fusion  of  some  large  lumps  which  had  been  imperfectly 
welded  from  the  state  of  sponge,  vitreous  globules  were  observed  to 
exude.  Of  this  fact  I  can  conceive  of  no  other  explanation  than  one 
founded  on  the  allegation  of  Prof.  Daniell,  that  during  exposure  to 
fire,  platina  absorbs  silicon. 


298  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

While  experimental  inorganic  chemistry,  in  its  broadest 
sense,  engaged  Hare's  consideration,  yet  at  times  he  ventured 
into  the  organic  domain.  Instances  of  this  are  cited  at 
various  places  in  the  present  narrative.  On  one  occasion 
(1837)  he  mixed  two  ounces  of  oil  of  turpentine,  four  ounces 
of  alcohol  and  eight  ounces  of  sulphuric  acid  and  subjected 
the  mixture  to  distillation.  The  distillate  was  a  yellow  col- 
ored liquid.  The  admixed  sulphurous  acid  was  removed  by 
ammonia,  and  the  ether  by  heat,  when  there  remained  a  liquid 
differing  in  smell  and  taste  from  the  oil  of  turpentine.  It  had 
no  action  on  metallic  potassium.  Examination  showed  the 
presence  of  a  small  quantity  of  sulphuric  acid  in  it.  Other 
essential  oils  behaved  similarly  altho'  there  were  some  with 
which  the  results  were  wholly  different.  Cinnamon  oil  from 
cassia,  treated  as  above,  gave  no  definite  product.  This  was 
also  true  of  sassafras  and  cloves.  In  one  instance  he  got 
from  sassafras  "  a  minute  quantity  of  a  lighter  liquid,  devoid 
of  acid,  which  burned  without  smoke,  was  insoluble  in  water, 
and  very  fluid."  He  termed  it  sassafreine,  analogous  to 
hydric  ether.  "  One  drop  of  oil  of  sassafras  imparted  a 
striking  color  to  48  ounce  measures  of  sulphuric  acid  and 
appeared  perceptible  when  it  formed  less  than  a  five  millionth 
part."  When  any  of  the  essential  oils  were  brought  in  contact 
with  sulphurous  acid  "  they  acquired  a  yellow  color."  Essen- 
tial oils  containing  oxygen  were  most  affected  by  the  action 
of  sulphurous  acid. 

In  this  connection  Hare  said: 

"  By  distilling  camphor  with  alcohol,  and  sulphuric  acid,  I 
obtained  a  yellow  liquid,  which,  by  washing  with  ammonia 
and  evaporation,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  the  sulphurous  ether, 
yielded  an  oil.  The  oil,  by  standing,  separated  into  two  por- 
tions, one  solid,  the  other  liquid.  The  solid  portion  resembled 
camphor  somewhat  in  smell,  but  differed  from  it  by  melting  at 
a  much  lower  temperature,  becoming  completely  fluid  at  175. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  299 

I  found  that  the  essential  oils  of  cinnamon  and  cloves 
possessed  an  antiseptic  power,  quite  equal  to  that  of  creosote, 
and  that  their  aqueous  solutions,  when  sulphated,  were  ever 
superior  to  similar  solutions  of  that  agent. 

One  part  of  milk  mingled  with  four  parts  of  a  saturated 
aqueous  solution  of  the  sulphated  oil  of  cloves,  remained 
after  five  days  sweet  and  liquid,  while  another  portion  of  the 
same  milk  became  curdled  and  sour  within  twenty  four  hours. 
Having  on  the  second  of  July  added  two  drops  of  oil  of  cin- 
namon to  an  ounce  measure  of  fresh  milk,  it  remained  liquid 
on  the  eleventh;  and,  though  it  finally  coagulated,  it  continued 
free  from  bad  taste  or  smell  until  September,  although  other 
portions  of  the  same  milk  had  become  putrid.  A  half  ounce 
of  milk  to  which  a  drop  of  sulphurous  oil  of  turpentine  had 
been  added,  remained  free  from  coagulation  at  the  end  of  two 
days,  while  another  portion,  containing  five  drops  of  pure  oil 
of  turpentine,  became  curdled  and  sour  on  the  next  day. 

A  number  of  pieces  of  meat  were  exposed  in  small  wine 
glasses,  with  water  impregnated  with  solutions  of  the  various 
essential  oils.  Their  antiseptic  power  seemed  to  be  in  the  ratio 
of  their  acridity.  The  milder  oils  seemed  to  have  compara- 
tively little  antiseptic  power,  unless  associated  with  the  sul- 
phurous acid,  which  has  long  been  known  as  an  antiseptic. 

In  cutaneous  diseases,  and,  perhaps,  in  the  case  of  some 
ulcers,  the  employment  of  the  sulphurous  sulphated  oils  may 
be  advantageous. 

A  respectable  physician  was  of  opinion  that  the  sulphurous 
sulphate  of  turpentine  had  a  beneficial  influence  in  the  case 
of  obstinate  tetter. 

Possibly  the  presence  of  sulphurous  acid  may  increase 
the  power  of  oil  of  turpentine  as  an  anthelmintic.  Pieces  of 
corned  meat  hung  up,  after  being  bathed  with  an  alcoholic 
solution  of  the  sulphurous  sulphated  oil  of  turpentine,  or  with 
solutions  of  the  sulphated  oils  of  cloves  or  cinnamon,  remained 


300  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

free  from  putridity  at  the  end  of  several  months.  That  im- 
bued with  cinnamon  had  a  slight  odor  and  taste  of  the  oil. 

I  am  led,  therefore,  to  the  impression  that  the  antiseptic 
power  is  not  peculiar  to  creosote,  but  belongs  to  other  acrid 
oils  and  principles,  and  especially  to  the  oils  of  cinnamon  and 
cloves. 

The  union  of  sulphuric  acid  with  these  oils  appears  to 
render  them  more  soluble  in  water;  whether  any  important 
change  is  effected  in  their  medical  qualities  by  the  presence  of 
the  acid  may  be  a  question  worthy  of  attention. 

I  have  stated  my  reasons  for  considering  the  ammoniacal 
liquid,  resulting  from  the  ablution  of  the  ethereal  sulphurous 
sulphate  of  etherine  with  ammonia,  as  partially  composed  of 
hyposulphuric  acid.  By  adding  to  this  ammoniacal  liquid  a 
quantity  of  sulphuric  acid,  sufficient  to  produce  a  strong 
odor  of  sulphurous  acid,  and  then  a  portion  of  any  of  the 
essential  oils;  a  combination  ensued,  as  already  described, 
between  the  oils  and  the  sulphurous  acid  liberated  by  the  sul- 
phuric acid,  so  as  to  render  them  yellow  and  suffocating.  The 
habitudes  of  cinnamon  oil  from  cassia  under  these  circum- 
stances were  peculiar.  A  quantity  of  it  was  dissolved,  com- 
municating to  the  liquid  a  reddish  hue.  The  solution  being 
evaporated,  a  gummy  translucent  reddish  mass  was  obtained, 
which,  by  solution  in  alcohol,  precipitated  a  quantity  of  salt, 
and  being  boiled  nearly  to  dryness,  re-dissolved  in  water,  and 
again  evaporated,  was  resolved  into  a  mass  having  the  fri- 
ability, consistency  and  translucency  of  common  rosin;  but 
with  a  higher  and  more  lively  reddish  color.  Its  odor  recalls, 
but  faintly,  that  of  cinnamon ;  its  taste  is  bitter  and  disagree- 
able, yet  recalling  that  of  the  oil  from  which  it  is  derived. 
Its  aqueous  solution  does  not  redden  litmus ;  nor,  when  acidu- 
lated with  nitric  acid,  does  it  yield,  a  precipitate  with  nitrate 
of  barytes. 

Of  this  substance  ten  grains  were  exposed  to  the  process 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  301 

above  mentioned,  for  the  detection  of  sulphuric  acid,  and 
were  found  to  yield  a  precipitate  of  6.5  grains  of  sulphate  of 
barytes. 

It  may  be  worth  while  to  mention,  that  in  boiling  the  sul- 
phated  oils  with  nitric  acid,  compounds  are  formed  finally, 
which  resist  the  further  action  of  the  acid,  and  are  only  to 
be  decomposed  by  the  assistance  of  a  nitrate  and  deflagration. 
I  conjecture  that  these  compounds  will  be  found  to  merit 
classification  as  ethers  formed  by  an  oxacid  of  nitrogen. 

One  of  my  pupils,  in  examining  one  of  the  compounds 
thus  generated,  was,  as  he  conceived,  seriously  affected  by 
it,  suffering  next  day  as  from  an  overdose  of  opium.  He 
also  conceived  that  a  cat,  to  which  a  small  quantity  was  given, 
was  affected  in  like  manner. 

I  had  prepared  an  apparatus  with  the  view  of  analyzing 
accurately  the  various  compounds  above  described  or  alluded 
to,  by  burning  them  in  oxygen  gas;  when,  by  an  enduring 
illness  of  my  assistant,  and  subsequently  my  own  indisposi- 
tion, I  was  prevented  from  executing  my  intentions." 

Lengthy  comment  on  sulphurous  ether,  and  sulphate  of 
etherine  (the  true  sulphurous  ether)  was  also  made,  in  which 
he  concluded  "  that  the  yellow  liquid  obtained  by  distilling 
equal  measures  of  sulphuric  acid  and  alcohol,  consists  of  oil 
of  wine  held  in  solution  by  sulphurous  ether,  composed  of 
nearly  equal  volumes  or  weights  of  its  ingredients ;  also,  that 
the  affinity  between  the  ether  and  the  acid  is  analogous  to 
that  which  exists  between  alcohol  and  water. 

The  apparent  detection  of  sulphuric  acid  in  the  ammonia, 
justifies  a  surmise,  that  the  etherine  distils  in  the  state  of  a 
hyposulphate,  which  subsequently  undergoes  a  decomposition 
into  sulphurous  acid  and  the  sulphate  of  etherine. 

The  liquid  above  alluded  to,  as  resulting  from  the  satura- 
tion of  the  ethereal  sulphurous  sulphate  of  etherine  by  am- 
monia, and  distillation  by  means  of  a  water  bath  gradually 


302  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

raised  to  a  boiling  heat,  is  a  very  fragrant  variety  of  oil  of 
wine.  It  differs  from  that  described  by  Berzelius  as  the 
heavy  oil  of  wine  of  Hennel  and  Serullas,  in  being  lighter 
and  containing  less  sulphuric  acid.  I  have  a  specimen  exactly 
of  the  specific  gravity  of  water,  and  have  had  one  so  light 
as  to  float  on  that  liquid.  The  oil  of  wine  obtained  by 
ammonia  approximates,  in  its  qualities,  to  the  variety  which 
Thenard  describes  as  light  oil  of  wine. 

The  presence  of  sulphuric  acid  in  a  definite  or  invariable 
ratio  does  not  appear  requisite  to  the  distinctive  flavour  or 
odour  of  oil  of  wine." 

The  following  account  of  his  process  for  manufacturing 
sweet  spirits  of  nitre  will  be  read  with  interest: 

"  The  reaction  of  nitric  acid  with  alcohol  is  so  difficult 
to  regulate,  in  the  ordinary  mode  of  making  ether  in  which 
the  whole  of  the  materials  are  mingled  at  the  outset  of  the 
process,  that  I  was  induced  about  seventeen  years  ago  ( 1820) , 
to  introduce  an  apparatus  in  which  they  were  gradually  added 
together  within  a  glass  bottle,  by  means  of  glass  funnels  with 
glass  cocks. 

Subsequently  I  adopted  a  bottle  provided  with  three 
tubulures,  letting  the  one  tubulure  communicate,  by  means 
of  a  recurved  tube  with  another  tube  passing  perpendicu- 
larly through  an  open-necked  inverted  receiver,  and  enter- 
ing a  bottle  surrounded  with  ice  and  salt,  occupying  a  suit- 
able vessel.  The  cavity  of  the  receiver  should  likewise  be 
occupied  by  a  freezing  mixture. 

Into  each  of  the  remaining  tubulures  let  a  glass  tube  be  in- 
troduced, ground  or  luted  to  fit  air  tight,  and  tapering  so  as  to 
terminate  in  a  capillary  orifice  near  the  bottom  of  the  bottle. 

Through  one  of  the  tubes  introduce  as  much  alcohol  as 
will  cover  the  bottom  of  the  bottle,  and  then,  by  means  of 
the  other  tube,  introduce  as  much  strong  nitric  acid  as  will 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  303 

cause  an  effervescence.  Should  the  effervescence  threaten  to 
become  explosive,  the  reaction  may  be  checked  by  the  further 
addition  of  alcohol,  and  when  the  reaction  appears  to  decline 
too  much,  it  may  be  re-excited  by  an  additional  quantity  of 
acid.  By  these  means,  without  applying  heat,  a  quantity  of 
nitric  ether  will  soon  be  condensed  in  the  refrigerated  bottle. 
To  convert  this  ether  into  a  liquid,  fully  equal  to  the  official 
sweet  spirits  of  nitre,  let  it  be  mingled  with  seven  parts  of 
alcohol,  and  four  of  water.  The  colder  the  freezing  mixture, 
the  greater  will  be  the  product;  yet  more  or  less  may  be 
obtained  by  refrigeration  with  cold  water. 

It  may  be  proper  to  mention,  that  at  the  bottom  of  the 
phial  an  aqueous  acid  liquor  is  deposited,  upon  which  the  ether 
swims,  and  from  which  it  should  be  carefully  separated." 

Calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  on  heating  sodium  or 
potassium  nitrate  "  the  first  portions  of  gas  (oxygen)  ex- 
tricated are  nearly  pure  "  and  that  the  cold  white  mass — the 
residue — on  solution  in  water  deposits  crystals  of  nitrate 
after  the  liquid  cools,  but  that  the  mother  liquor  "  evaporated 
to  a  certain  point  begins  to  yield  crystals  of  hyponitrite  " 
(nitrite),  Hare  emphasizes  that  the  "superior  solubility" 
of  either  nitrite  renders  "  it  practicable  to  separate  them 
from  the  nitrate  having  the  same  base."  He  could  not  com- 
prehend why  just  about  the  third  of  the  nitrate  is  changed  by 
heat  to  nitrite  and  suggested  that  "  it  would  seem  as  if  there 
were  a  reaction  between  the  nitrate  and  hyponitrite  (nitrite) , 
which,  having  co-operated  to  expel  a  portion  of  the  contained 
oxygen,  afterwards  restrains  the  evolution  of  a  further  por- 
tion until  the  heat  is  raised  to  a  point  capable  of  effecting  such 
a  decomposition  as  to  evolve  the  nitrogen  and  oxygen  in  a 
state  of  mixture." 

He  came  to  prefer  the  use  of  a  real  nitrite  instead  of  a 
nitrate,  with  sulphuric  acid  and  alcohol,  in  forming  what  is 
"  commonly  known  as  nitrous  or  nitric  ether."  He  obtained 


304  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

by  this  means  an  ether  differing  from  the  "  ordinary  nitrous 
or  nitric  ether."  "  It  has  a  more  bland  and  saccharine  taste, 
milder  odour,  and  greater  volatility.  .  .  .  Touched  with 
the  finger,  or  tongue,  it  hisses  as  does  water  with  a  red  hot 


iron." 


"  When  the  new  ether  is  distilled  from  powdered  quick 
lime,  this  earth  imbibes  an  essential  oil,  which,  with  the  aid 
of  water,  is  yielded  to  pure  hydric  ether.  Of  course  it  is  easy 
to  remove  this  solvent  by  evaporation  or  distillation. 

The  odour  of  this  oil  seems  to  be  an  ingredient  in  that  of 
ordinary  nitric  ether.  -.  .  .  I  suspect  that  the  essential 
oil  in  question  is  one  of  the  impurities  which  causes  the  boiling 
point  of  the  ether  generated  by  nitric  acid  and  alcohol  to  be 
higher  than  the  boiling  point  of  that  obtained,  as  in  my  proc- 
ess, by  nascent  hypo-nitrous  acid  (nitrous  acid) . 

When  the  heat  is  raised,  after  the  volatile  ether  ceases  to 
come  over  from  the  materials  above  mentioned  as  producing 
it,  ethereal  products  are  distilled,  of  which  the  boiling  point 
gradually  rises  as  the  process  proceeds.  Meanwhile,  the 
product  thus  obtained  becomes  more  and  more  acrid,  till  at 
last  it  is  rendered  insupportable  to  the  tongue,  as  respects 
the  after  taste.  On  mingling  these  liquids  with  a  solution  of 
green  sulphate  of  iron,  the  ether  is  all  absorbed ;  but  an  acrid 
liquid,  which  causes  the  after  taste,  is  not  absorbed,  and  may 
be  separated  by  hydric  ether.  The  ether  being  vaporized  by 
heat,  the  acrid  liquid  remains.  The  smallest  drop  of  this 
liquid  is  productive  of  an  effect  upon  the  organs  of  taste  and 
smell  like  that  of  mustard  or  horse-radish. 

The  new  ether,  when  secured  in  a  glass  phial,  by  means 
of  a  well  ground  stopper,  does  not  undergo  any  change  by 
keeping  in  a  cool  situation  for  several  months.  A  phial  was 
suspended  about  fifteen  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
in  a  cistern  of  water,  for  about  five  months ;  another  was  left 
in  a  cool  cellar  for  a  longer  period,  without  any  apparent 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  305 

change  of  properties.  In  this  case  pressure  prevented  the 
escape  of  the  ethereal  gas  as  above  mentioned. 

When  the  ingredients  for  generating  the  new  hyponitrous 
ether  are  refrigerated  below  freezing,  and  left  to  react,  the 
ether  begins  to  be  formed  as  soon  as  the  temperature  rises, 
and  if  the  aggregate  be  included  in  a  bottle  with  an  air-tight 
stopple,  a  stratum  of  ether  will  soon  form  and  swim  upon  the 
surface  of  the  mixture.  The  quantity  which  can  be  thus  ob- 
tained is  much  less  than  that  which  ensues  from  the  employ- 
ment of  the  same  quantity  of  materials  with  a  retort  and 
refrigerated  receiver;  because  the  elaboration  and  condensa- 
tion require  a  greater  difference  of  temperature  than  can  be 
imparted,  conveniently,  to  the  different  portions  of  a  bottle, 
especially  where  the  upper  is  required  to  be  the  colder  portion. 

In  order  to  obtain  a  quantity  of  ether  in  a  summary  way, 
I  resorted  to  this  process  last  winter,  employing  about  a 
gallon  of  the  mixture.  After  I  had  decanted  the  ether  which 
formed  in  the  course  of  a  night,  the  residue,  although  sur- 
rounded by  snow,  continued  to  give  out  the  aerial  ether  for 
at  least  a  fortnight.  The  gaseous  ether  seems  to  be  formed  in 
innumerable,  invisible  bubbles  throughout  the  mass,  which,  on 
this  account,  presented  the  singular  phenomenon  of  an  elastic 
liquid.  On  inserting  the  stopple,  the  liquid  in  the  neck  of  the 
bottle  would  subside  in  the  most  striking  manner,  and  on  re- 
moving the  stopple,  an  opposite  movement  was  observable. 

All  the  ethereal  compounds  formed  by  the  reaction  of  the 
oxacids  of  nitrogen  with  alcohol  appear  to  be  decomposable  by 
green  sulphate  of  iron.  Under  these  circumstances,  accord- 
ing to  Berzelius,  a  malate  of  iron  is  formed  from  common 
nitric  ether. 

Concentrated  sulphuric  acid  absorbs  the  elements  derived 

from  the  alcohol,  and  liberates  nitric  oxide  gas,  which  is,  it 

is  well  known,  rapidly  absorbable  by  the  green  sulphate  above 

mentioned.    Let  there  be  three  cylindrical  glass  jars,  Nos.  1, 

20 


306  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

2,  and  3,  of  such  a  ratio  to  each  other,  in  size,  as  to  allow  two 
interstices  of  about  half  an  inch  between  the  second,  or  inter- 
mediate jar,  No.  2,  and  the  outer,  No.  1,  and  innermost  jar, 
No.  3;  likewise,  let  two  bell  glasses  be  provided,  of  such  a 
size  as  that  one  of  them,  (A)  may  enter  the  inner  interstice, 
while  the  other,  (B)  will  cover  (A)  and  descend  into  the 
outer  interstice.  Let  a  wine-glass  containing  the  ether  be 
placed  in  jar  No.  2,  and  let  No.  1  be  supplied  with  green  sul- 
phate of  iron,  the  other  two  with  concentrated  sulphuric  acid, 
and  let  the  bells  be  put  in  their  respective  places. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  ether  will  be  gradually 
vaporized,  and  the  alcoholic  elements,  with  some  oxygen,  will 
be  absorbed  by  the  acid,  while  nitric  oxide,  being  liberated, 
will  pass  into  the  sulphate,  and  be  consequently  absorbed. 

From  the  new  ether  my  young  friend,  Mr.  Boye,  who  was, 
at  the  time,  one  of  my  operative  pupils,  succeeded  in  evolv- 
ing alcohol  by  digestion  with  slacked  lime,  and  subsequent 
distillation.  The  lime  was  found  to  be  in  the  state  of  a  hypo- 
nitrite,  giving  a  precipitate  with  the  nitrate  of  silver. 

When,  into  a  bell-glass  containing  some  of  the  aeriform 
ether,  a  globule  of  potassium  was  introduced,  and  touched 
with  a  red  hot  knob  which  formed  the  termination  of  an  iron 
rod,  ignition  took  place,  and  the  gas  seemed  to  have  changed 
its  character.  I  had  not,  however,  leisure  to  examine  it  eudi- 
ometrically.  There  was  an  odour  produced  which  reminded 
me  both  of  that  of  fish  and  soap." 

He  also  recounted  how  he  had  observed  an  ethereal  liquid 
subsiding  on  the  addition  of  pure  pyroxylic  spirit  to  an 
aqueous  solution  of  hypochlorous  acid,  obtained  by  passing 
chlorine  into  water  in  contact  with  mercuric  oxide. 

Having  separated  the  ether  thus  produced,  it  was  found 
to  have  an  agreeable  and  peculiar  fragrance.  Like  oil  of 
wine,  it  could  not  be  distilled  without  decomposition.  There 
was  an  effervescence  at  the  temperature  of  140°  F.;  but  the 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  307 

boiling  point  rose  beyond  that  of  a  boiling  water-bath.  When 
a  naked  flame  was  applied,  the  ether,  previously  colourless, 
acquired  a  yellowish  wine  colour,  and,  by  the  crackling  evolu- 
tion of  vapour,  indicated  decomposition. 

When  the  liquid  hypochlorous  acid  was  subjected  to  the 
process  of  distillation,  before  the  addition  of  the  spirit,  an 
ether  resulted  which  floated  on  the  solution,  and  which  ap- 
peared to  differ  from  that  obtained  as  first  mentioned. 

These  observations,  and  those  previously  communicated 
respecting  the  hyponitrite  of  methyl,  were  made  by  the  aid 
of  a  small  quantity  of  pure  pyroxylic  spirit,  supplied  to  him 
by  his  friend,  Dr.  Ure,  who  regretted  that  both  ill  health  and 
the  exhaustion  of  his  stock  of  spirit  had  prevented  him  from 
making  further  observations  and  experiments,  tending  to 
decide  whether  the  ethers  obtained,  as  he  had  described,  were 
either  or  both  hypochlorites,  or  whether  mercury  entered  into 
the  composition  of  the  heavier  ether.  This  there  was  some 
reason  for  believing;  since,  when  boiled  to  dryness  at  a  high 
temperature,  a  reddish  residuum  was  apparent,  which  being 
redissolved,  and  a  small  strip  of  copper  immersed  in  the 
resulting  solution,  a  minute  deposition,  apparently  metallic, 
was  observable." 

In  another  communication  he  announced : 

'  That  he  had  procured  by  means  of  hyponitrite  of  soda, 
diluted  sulphuric  acid,  and  pyroxylic  spirit,  an  ethereal  liquid 
in  which  methyl  (C2H3)  might  be  inferred  to  perform  the 
same  part  as  ethyl  (C4H5)  in  hyponitrous  ether. 

The  compound  .  .  .  had  a  great  resemblance  to  alco- 
holic hyponitrous  ether,  similarly  evolved,  in  colour,  smell 
and  taste;  although  there  was  still  a  difference  sufficient  to 
prevent  the  one  from  being  mistaken  for  the  other. 

Pyroxylic  spirit  appeared  to  have  a  greater  disposition 
than  alcohol  to  combine  with  the  ether  generated  from  it, 
probably  in  consequence  of  its  having  less  affinity  for  water. 


308  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

The  boiling  point  appeared  to  be  nearly  the  same  in  both 
of  the  ethers;  and  in  both,  in  consequence  of  the  escape  of 
an  ethereal  gas,  an  effervescence,  resembling  that  of  ebulli- 
tion, was  observed  to  take  place  at  a  lower  temperature 
than  that  at  which  the  boiling  point  became  stationary.  The 
ethereal  gas,  mentioned  in  his  communication  respecting  hy- 
ponitrous  ether,  seemed  to  have  escaped  the  attention  of 
European  chemists;  and,  even  after  it  had  been  noticed  by 
him,  seemed  to  be  overlooked  by  Liebig,  Kane  and  others 
in  their  subsequent  publications." 

Hare  attached  the  more  importance  to  his  success  in  pro- 
ducing the  ether  which  was  the  subject  of  his  communication; 
since,  agreeably  to  Liebig,  no  such  compound  exists,  and  it 
is  to  be  inferred  that  this  would  excite  no  surprise,  when  the 
difference  was  considered  between  the  consequences  of  the 
reaction  of  nitric  acid  with  pyroxylic  spirit,  and  with  alcohol. 

"  The  liquid  last  mentioned  is  now  viewed  as  a  hydrated 
oxide  of  ethyl,  while  pyroxylic  spirit  is  viewed  as  a  hydrated 
oxide  of  methyl.  When  alcohol  is  presented  to  nitric  acid, 
a  reciprocal  decomposition  ensues.  The  acid  loses  two  atoms 
of  oxygen,  which  by  taking  two  atoms  of  hydrogen  from  a 
portion  of  the  alcohol,  transforms  it  into  aldehyde ;  while  the 
hyponitrous  acid,  resulting  inevitably  from  the  partial  deoxy- 
dizement  of  the  nitric  acid,  unites  with  the  base  of  the  remain- 
ing part  of  the  alcohol.  But  when  pyroxylic  spirit  is  pre- 
sented to  nitric  acid,  this  acid,  without  decomposition,  com- 
bines with  methyl,  the  base  of  this  hydrate;  so  that,  as  no 
hyponitrous  acid  can  be  evolved,  no  hyponitrite  can  be  pro- 
duced. Thus  in  the  case  of  the  one  there  can  be  no  ethereal 
hyponitrite,  in  that  of  the  other,  no  ethereal  nitrate." 

Hare  regretted  that  Liebig  should  not  have  been  in- 
formed of  the  improved  process  for  hyponitrous  ether,  to 
which  he  had  referred.  .  .  .  Instead  of  recommending 
a  resort  to  that  process,  it  was  advised  that  the  fumes,  re- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  309 

suiting  from  the  reaction  of  nitric  acid  with  fecula  (starch), 
should  be  passed  into  alcohol,  and  the  resulting  vapour  con- 
densed by  means  of  a  tube  surrounded  by  a  freezing  mixture. 
This  process  Hare  had  repeated,  and  found  the  product 
very  inferior  in  quantity  and  purity  to  that  resulting  from 
the  employment  of  a  hyponitrite.  In  this  process,  nascent 
hyponitrous  acid,  as  liberated  from  a  base,  is  brought  into 
contact  with  the  hydrated  oxide.  In  the  process  recom- 
mended by  Liebig,  evidently  this  contact  could  not  take  place ; 
since  it  was  well  known  "  that  hyponitrous  acid  could  not  be 
obtained  by  subjecting  fecula  and  nitric  acid  to  distillation, 
and  condensing  the  aeriform  products." 

A  test  for  the  detection  of  minute  quantities  of  opium 
"  not  exceeding  that  contained  in  ten  drops  of  laudanum  in  a 
half  gallon  of  water  "  was  devised  by  Hare.  The  process 
was  based  on  the  insolubility  of  lead  meconate.  The  precipi- 
tation, where  the  quantity  is  small,  may  require  from  six  to 
twelve  hours,  and  may  be  facilitated  by  a  very  gentle  stirring 
with  a  glass  rod.  When  the  meconate  has  settled  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  vessel,  let  about  thirty  drops  of  sulphuric  acid  be 
poured  on  it  by  means  of  a  glass  tube.  Follow  this  with 
as  much  "  red  sulphate  of  iron."  The  meconic  acid  liberated 
by  the  sulphuric  acid  will  give  a  "  striking  red  colour  with 
the  iron  salt."  This  demonstrated  the  presence  of  the  acid, 
"  and  consequently  of  opium." 

In  this  connection,  it  may  be  said  that  Hare  proposed 
"  an  easy  method  of  obtaining  meconic  acid,"  which  consisted 
in  adding  to  an  aqueous  infusion  of  opium  a  solution  of  "  sub- 
acetate  of  lead."  Copious,  lead  meconate  then  separated. 
This  was  collected  upon  a  filter  and  exposed  to  the  action  of 
hydrogen  sulphide  when  meconic  acid  was  set  free.  Its 
aqueous  solution  had  a  reddish  amber  colour,  and  on  evapora- 
tion yielded  crystals  of  the  same  hue. 

Hare  recommended  the  following  course  to  "  denarcotise 


310  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

laudanum  " :  Treat  opium  shavings  four  times  successively 
to  as  much  ether,  sp.  gr.  0.735,  as  will  cover  it,  allowing 
each  portion  to  act  upon  it  for  about  24  hours.  Afterwards 
treat  the  residual  opium  with  as  much  duly  diluted  alcohol 
as  will  be  necessary  to  convert  it  into  laudanum.  From  the 
ether  extracts  crystals  separate — this  is  "  the  principle  dis- 
tinguished by  Robiquet,  since  called  narcotine."  ''  The  first 
use  of  the  denarcotised  laudanum  was  by  way  of  an  enema 
of  thirty  drops,  in  the  case  of  a  child  tortured  by  ascarides, 
to  whom  it  gave  easy  relief."  A  friend — a  veteran  in  the 
art  of  healing — informed  Hare  that  from  his  use  of  the 
denarcotised  laudanum  "  I  am  led  to  anticipate  the  great 
desideratum  in  the  use  of  opium  is  obtained." 

In  1837  Hare  made  numerous  communications  which 
appeared  either  in  the  American  Journal  of  Science  or  in  the 
"  Proceedings  or  Transactions  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society."  Most  of  these  relate  to  highly  interesting  and 
very  important  observations.  For  example,  he  said,  "  in  a 
circuit  made  through  a  saturated  solution  of  chloride  of 
calcium,  by  means  of  a  coarse  platina  wire  (No.  14)  and  a 
fine  wire  (No.  26)  that  when  the  latter  was  made  the  cathode 
and  the  former  the  anode,  a  most  intense  ignition  resulted. 
.  .  .  But  when  the  situations  of  the  wires  were  reversed, 
so  that  the  smaller  wire  was  made  to  form  the  anode,  the 
ignition  became  comparatively  so  feeble  as  to  be  incompetent 
to  fuse  the  fine  wire.  This  phenomenon  had  continued  to 
appear  inexplicable,  when  during  the  last  winter,  it  occurred 
to  me  that  the  evolution  and  combustion  of  the  calcium  might 
be  the  cause  of  the  superior  heat  produced  at  the  cathode." 

This  led  him  to  substitute  calcium  chloride  for  the  lime  in 
the  process  of  Seebeck,  Berzelius  and  Tontin.  Operating  with 
a  deflagrator  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  Cruikshank  pairs, 
of  seven  inches  by  three,  he  speedily  obtained  a  mercurial 
amalgam.  After  its  exposure  to  air  till  all  the  calcium  had 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  311 

been  separated,  and  igniting  the  resulting  powder  to  expel 
the  last  traces  of  mercury  "  the  ratio  of  the  weight  of  lime  thus 
obtained,  to  the  mercury  with  which  it  had  been  united,  was 
not  over  a  five  hundredth  part."  All  this  prompted  Hare 
to  study  Davy's  Bakerian  lecture  with  exceeding  care.  It 
will  be  recalled  that  Davy  sought  to  get  calcium,  strontium 
and  barium  by  electrolyzing  the  oxides  of  these  metals  in 
contact  with  a  mercury  cathode.  In  speaking  of  calcium 
Davy  said :  "  In  the  case  in  which  I  was  enabled  to  distill  the 
mercury  from  it  to  the  greatest  extent,  the  tube  unfortunately 
broke  while  warm,  and  at  the  moment  when  the  air  entered 
the  metal,  which  had  the  colour  of  silver,  took  fire  and  burnt, 
with  an  intense  white  light,  into  quicklime."  This  scheme 
Hare  thought  a  failure,  as  he  did  the  work  of  Davy  in  attempt- 
ing to  isolate  strontium  and  barium.  In  commenting  on  the 
latter  Hare  wrote:  "  Had  the  barium  obtained  by  Davy  been 
free  from  mercury,  it  would  not  have  been  fusible  below  a 
red  heat,  as  alleged  by  him.  Agreeably  to  my  experience, 
that  metal  requires  no  less  than  a  good  red  heat  for  its  fusion." 
And  then  he  proceeds  to  tell  how  he  operated.  The  story 
is  fascinating.  In  this  process  Hare  uses  mercury  as  cathode 
in  an  aqueous  salt  solution.  It  is  probable  that  this  was  the 
first  time  that  that  metal  had  been  so  employed,  and  would 
it  not  then  have  to  be  regarded  as  the  forerunner  of  its  use 
in  making  caustic  soda  from  an  aqueous  sodium  chloride 
solution?  Was  it  not  also  the  forerunner  of  the  employment 
of  mercury  as  cathode  in  electro-analysis  ?  It  will  be  recalled 
that  in  1841  Wolcott  Gibbs  acted  as  student  assistant  in 
Hare's  laboratory,  and  it  does  seem  quite  probable  that  the 
things  which  had  so  deeply  interested  Hare  and  occupied  so 
much  of  his  thought  would  be  the  subject  of  discussion  with 
his  assistants,  so  that  in  later  years  when  Wolcott  Gibbs  was 
enriching  the  domain  of  analytical  chemistry  with  his  con- 
tributions he  may  have  recalled  his  old  Philadelphia  experi- 


S12  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

ences  and  used  mercury,  placed  in  a  small  beaker  as  cathode, 
in  the  electrolysis  of  copper  and  nickel  sulphates,  and  later 
Drowne  (his  former  pupil)  used  it  in  the  electrolysis  of  iron 
phosphate,  while  thousands  of  determinations  and  separa- 
tions of  metals  have  since  been  expeditiously  and  accurately 
effected  in  this  way.  Surely  it  is  not  too  much  to  claim  for 
Hare  the  pioneer  work  in  the  use  of  mercury  as  cathode  in 
industrial  and  analytical  operations.  It  is,  however,  inad- 
visable to  reproduce  here  his  apparatus  as  it  has  been  recently 
set  forth  in  detail  elsewhere.9 

Suffice  to  state  that  the  current  came  from  the  alternate 
action  of  two  deflagrators.  The  amalgam  formed  was  sub- 
sequently distilled  from  an  alembic  protected  by  a  stout  cap- 
sule of  iron.10 

The  isolated  calcium,  strontium  and  barium  rapidly  ox- 
idized in  water  or  in  any  liquid  in  which  they  were  present. 
The  metals  all  sank  in  sulphuric  acid.  They  were  quite  brittle. 
For  fusion  they  required  at  least  a  red  heat.  After  being 
kept  in  naphtha  their  immersion  in  water  was  accompanied 
at  first  with  much  less  effervescence.  They  reacted  violently 
in  hydrochloric  acid. 

At  present  the  properties  of  calcium  are  quite  well  known ; 
but  of  strontium  and  barium  not  much  can  be  said.  All  are 
silver  grey  in  color.  At  800°  C.  calcium  may  be  drawn  into 
wire  and  beaten  into  almost  any  shape.  It  is  probable  that 
Hare's  method  of  getting  strontium  and  barium  may  in  time 
prove  quite  feasible. 

He  remarked  that  "  By  means  of  solid  carbonic  acid,  I 
froze  an  ounce  measure  of  the  amalgam  of  calcium,  hoping 
to  effect  a  partial  mechanical  separation  of  the  mercury  by 
straining  through  leather,  as  in  the  case  of  other  amalgams. 
The  result,  however,  did  not  justify  my  hopes,  as  both  metals 

9  Chemistry  in  America.     D.  Appleton  &  Co. 
10  Chemistry  in  America.     D.  Appleton  &  Co. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  313 

were  expelled  through  the  pores  of  the  leather  simultaneously, 
the  calcium  forming,  forthwith,  a  pulverulent  oxide,  inter- 
mingled with  and  discoloured  by  mercury  in  a  state  of  ex- 
treme division. 

By  the  same  means  I  froze  a  mass  of  the  amalgam  of 
ammonium  as  large  as  the  palm  of  my  hand,  so  as  to  be  quite 
hard,  tenacious  and  brittle.  The  mass  floated  upon  the  mer- 
cury of  my  mercurial  pneumatic  cistern,  and  gradually  lique- 
fied, while  its  volatile  ingredients  escaped." 

Hare  also  employed  the  following  processes  to  get  cal- 
cium: the  deflagration  of  the  phosphuret  of  calcium  in  an  at- 
mosphere of  hydrogen ;  the  exposure  of  the  anhydrous  iodide 
of  calcium  to  a  current  of  hydrogen,  or  ammonia  in  an  in- 
candescent tube;  the  ignition  of  the  pure  earth  or  its  car- 
bonate or  nitrate  with  sugar  or  of  the  tartrate  and  acetate 
per  se.  Hence  resulted  carburets,  which,  after  washing  with 
acetic  acid  and  rubbing  on  a  porcelain  tile,  displayed  the 
lustre  of  plumbago,  intermingled  with  metallic  spangles,  of 
a  brilliancy  rivalling  that  of  the  perfect  metals.  The  car- 
burets or  the  spangles  thus  obtained,  were  insoluble  in  acetic 
or  chlorohydric  acid,  but  yielded  to  aqua  regia.  The  car- 
burets were  excellent  conductors  of  the  voltaic  fluid,  as  evolved 
by  a  series  of  100  pairs;  and,  by  deflagration  in  a  receiver 
filled  with  hydrogen,  yielded  metallic  particles,  which,  rubbed 
on  a  porcelain  tile,  formed  spangles  of  a  metallic  brilliancy. 
By  igniting  antimony  with  tartrate  of  lime,  Hare  procured 
an  alloy  of  that  metal  with  calcium,  and  expected  by  anal- 
ogous means  to  alloy  the  metals  of  the  earths  with  various 
metals  proper.  He  believed  that  no  effort  to  obtain  calcium 
prior  to  his,  had  been  more  successful  than  the  abortive  ex- 
periment of  Sir  H.  Davy.  .  .  .  That  the  spangles  ob- 
tained by  Hare  from  lime,  were  calcium,  was  ascertained  by 
their  solution  in  aqua  regia,  and  the  successive  subsequent 
addition  of  ammonia  and  oxalic  acid;  the  resulting  precipi- 


314  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

tate  being  ignited,  then  redissolved  and  again  precipitated 
as  at  first.  No  precipitate  ensued  from  the  addition  of  am- 
monia prior  to  that  of  the  oxalic  acid.  Sulphydric  acid 
produced  a  slight  discoloration,  but  gave  no  precipitate.  That 
the  substances,  resulting  from  the  ignition  of  the  carbonate 
with  sugar,  and  washing  with  acetic  acid,  contained  calcium 
in  the  metallic  state,  combined  with  carbon,  was  evident  from 
their  being  insoluble  in  acetic  or  chlorohydric  acid ;  from  the 
deposition  of  carbon,  and  giving  a  precipitate  of  oxalate  of 
lime  on  being  subjected  to  aqua  regia,  ammonia,  and  oxalic 
acid ;  from  their  metallic  brilliancy  when  burnished,  and  from 
their  being  excellent  conductors  of  the  voltaic  fluid.  By  the 
ignition  of  the  carbonates  of  baryta  and  strontia  severally 
with  sugar,  Hare  had  attained  analogous  results  to  those 
above  mentioned  in  the  case  of  the  similar  ignition  of  car- 
bonate of  calcium. 

The  extreme  avidity  of  calcium  for  iron  was  quite  strik- 
ing; since,  when  a  crucible  was  inclosed  in  a  clean  iron  case 
without  a  cover,  the  mass,  swelling  up  so  as  to  reach  the  iron, 
became  slightly  imbued  with  it.  By  intensely  igniting  the 
carburet  of  calcium,  obtained  from  the  carbonate  and  sugar, 
with  an  equal  weight  of  dry  tannogallate  of  iron,  the  whole 
of  the  aggregate  became  so  magnetic  that  every  particle 
was  transferred  from  one  vessel  to  another  by  means  of  a 
magnet.  The  mass  was  filled  with  minute  metallic  globules, 
which  yielded  only  partially  to  chlorohydric  acid,  and  which, 
when  dissolved  in  aqua  regia,  gave,  after  adding  ammonia 
and  filtration,  a  precipitate  with  oxalic  acid. 

Hare  was  aware  that  it  did  not  seem  consistent  that 
spangles  of  calcium,  burnished  upon  porcelain,  should  retain 
their  lustre;  as,  under  other  circumstances,  and  especially 
when  amalgamated,  that  metal  was  found  to  oxidize  as  soon  as 
exposed  to  the  air.  He  had,  however,  through  the  kindness  of 
J.  C.  Booth,  a  pupil  of  Wohler,  procured  a  specimen  of  mag- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  315 

nesium  evolved  by  that  celebrated  chemist.  This  specimen 
yielded,  under  the  burnisher,  spangles  of  a  lustre  as  enduring 
as  that  observed  by  Dr.  Hare,  in  the  case  of  calcium. 

Two  years  later,  1839,  another  remarkable  contribution 
appeared  from  the  laboratory  of  Hare.  It  related  to  what 
he  designated  the  "deflagration"  of  carburets,  phosphurets,  or 
cyanides  in  an  atmosphere  of  hydrogen  or  in  vacuo,  taking  oc- 
casion furthermore  to  discuss  again  the  isolation  of  calcium. 
His  hope  was  that  chemists  would  find  something  worthy  of 
attention  in  this  "  new  mode  of  applying  the  voltaic  current." 
The  apparatus  he  designed  may  be  thus  described: 

"  Upon  a  hollow  cylinder  of  brass  an  extra  air-pump 
plate  was  supported.  The  cylinder  was  furnished  with  three 
valve  cocks,  and  terminated  at  the  bottom  in  a  stuffing-box, 
through  which  a  copper  rod  slid  so  as  to  reach  above  the 
level  of  the  air-pump  plate.  The  end  of  the  rod  supported 
a  small  horizontal  platform  of  sheet  brass,  which  received 
four  upright  screws.  These,  by  pressure,  on  brass  bars  ex- 
tending from  one  to  the  other,  were  competent  to  secure 
upon  the  platform  a  parallelepiped  of  charcoal.  Upon  the 
air-pump  plate  a  glass  bell  was  supported,  and  so  fitted  to 
it,  by  grinding,  as  to  be  air-tight.  The  otherwise  open  neck 
of  the  bell  was  also  closed  air-tight  by  tying  about  it  a 
caoutchouc  bag,  of  which  the  lower  part  had  been  cut  off, 
while  into  the  neck  a  stuffing-box  had  been  secured  air-tight. 
Through  the  last  mentioned  stuffing-box  a  second  rod  passed, 
terminating  within  the  bell  in  a  kind  of  forceps,  for  holding 
an  inverted  cone  of  charcoal. 

The  upper  end  of  this  sliding  rod  was  so  recurved  as  to 
enter  some  mercury  in  a  capsule.  By  these  means  and  the 
elasticity  of  the  caoutchouc  bag,  this  rod  had,  to  the  requisite 
extent,  perfect  freedom  of  motion. 

The  lower  rod  descended  into  a  capsule  of  mercury,  being, 


316  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

in  consequence,  capable  of  a  vertical  motion,  without  break- 
ing contact  with  the  mercury.  It  is  moved  by  the  aid  of  a 
lever  connected  with  it  by  a  stirrup  working  upon  pivots. 

Of  course  the  capsules  may  be  made  to  communicate 
severally  with  the  poles  of  one  or  more  deflagrators.  The 
substance  to  be  deflagrated  was  placed  upon  the  charcoal 
forming  the  lower  electrode,  being  afterwards  covered  by  the 
bell.  By  means  of  the  valve-cocks  and  leaden  pipes  a  com- 
munication was  made  with  <a  barometer  gage ;  also  with  an  air- 
pump,  and  with  a  large  self-regulating  reservoir  of  hydrogen. 

The  air  being  removed  by  the  pump,  a  portion  of  hydro- 
gen was  admitted,  and  then  withdrawn.  This  was  repeated, 
and  then  the  bell  glass,  after  as  complete  exhaustion  as  the 
performance  of  the  pump  would  render  practicable,  was 
prepared  for  the  process  of  deflagration  in  vacuo.  But,  if 
preferred,  evidently  hydrogen  or  any  other  gas  may  be  in- 
troduced from  any  convenient  source  by  a  due  communica- 
tion through  flexible  leaden  pipes  and  valve-cocks." 

Having  described  the  apparatus,  Hare  continued:  "  I 
will  give  an  account  of  some  experiments,  made  with  its 
assistance,  which,  if  they  could  have  illuminated  science  as 
they  did  my  lecture  room,  would  have  immortalized  the 
operator.  But,  alas,  we  may  be  dazzled,  and  almost  blinded 
by  the  light  produced  by  the  hydro-oxygen  blow-pipe,  or 
voltaic  ignition,  without  being  enabled  to  remove  the  dark- 
ness which  hides  the  mysteries  of  nature  from  our  intellectual 
vision.  ...'"..  !* 

An  equivalent  of  quicklime,  made  with  great  care,  from 
pure  crystallized  spar,  was  well  mingled,  by  trituration, 
with  an  equivalent  and  a  half  of  bicyanide  of  mercury,  and 
was  then  enclosed  within  a  covered  porcelain  crucible.  The 
crucible  was  included  within  an  iron  alembic,  such  as  has 
been  described  by  me. 

The  whole  was  exposed  to  heat  approaching  to  redness. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  317 

In  two  experiments  the  residual  mass  had  such  a  weight  as 
would  result  from  the  union  of  an  equivalent  of  cyanogen 
with  an  equivalent  of  calcium. 

A  similar  mixture  being  made,  and,  in  like  manner,  en- 
closed in  the  crucible  and  alembic,  it  was  subjected  to  a  white 
heat.  The  apparatus  being  refrigerated,  the  residual  mass 
was  transferred  to  a  dry  glass  phial  with  a  ground  stopper. 

A  portion  of  the  compound  thus  obtained  and  preserved 
was  placed  upon  the  parallelopiped  of  charcoal,  which  was 
made  to  form  the  cathode  of  two  deflagrators  of  one  hundred 
pairs,  each  of  one  hundred  square  inches  of  zinc  surface, 
co-operating  as  one  series. 

In  the  next  place,  the  cavity  of  the  bell  glass  was  filled 
with  hydrogen,  by  the  process  already  described,  and  the 
cone  of  charcoal  being  so  connected  with  the  positive  end 
of  the  series  as  to  be  prepared  to  perform  the  office  of  an 
anode,  was  brought  into  contact  with  the  compound  to  be 
deflagrated.  These  arrangements  being  accomplished,  and 
the  circuit  completed  by  throwing  the  acid  upon  the  plates, 
the  most  intense  ignition  took  place. 

The  compound  proved  to  be  an  excellent  conductor;  and 
during  its  deflagration  emitted  a  most  beautiful  purple  light, 
which  was  too  vivid  for  more  than  a  transient  endurance  by 
an  eye  unprotected  by  deep-coloured  glasses.  After  the 
compound  was  adjudged  to  be  sufficiently  deflagrated,  and 
time  had  been  allowed  for  refrigeration,  on  lifting  the  receiver 
minute  masses  were  found  upon  the  coal,  which  had  a  metallic 
appearance,  and  which,  when  moistened,  produced  an  efflu- 
vium, of  which  the  smell  was  like  that  which  had  been  observed 
to  be  generated  by  the  silicuret  of  potassium. 

Similar  results  had  been  attained  by  the  deflagration,  in  a 
like  manner,  of  a  compound  procured  by  passing  cyanogen 
over  quicklime,  enclosed  in  a  porcelain  tube,  heated  to 
incandescence. 


318  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

Phosphuret  of  calcium,  when  carefully  prepared,  and, 
subsequently,  well  heated,  was  found  to  be  an  excellent  con- 
ductor of  the  voltaic  current.  Hence  it  was  thought  expedi- 
ent to  expose  it  in  the  circuit  of  the  deflagrator,  both  in  an 
atmosphere  of  hydrogen  and  in  vacuo.  The  volatilization  of 
phosphorus  was  so  copious  as  to  coat  nearly  all  the  inner 
surface  of  the  bell-glass  with  an  opake  film. 

The  phosphuret  at  first  contracted  in  bulk,  and  finally 
was,  for  the  most  part,  volatilized.  On  the  surface  of  the 
charcoal,  adjoining  the  cavity  in  which  the  phosphuret  had 
been  deflagrated,  there  was  a  light  pulverulent  matter,  which, 
thrown  into  water,  effervesced,  and,  when  rubbed  upon  a 
porcelain  tile,  appeared  to  contain  metallic  spangles,  which 
were  oxidized  by  the  consequent  exposure  to  atmospheric 
oxygen. 

In  one  of  my  experiments  portions  of  the  carbon  form- 
ing the  anode  appeared  to  have  undergone  complete  fusion, 
and  to  have  dropped  in  globules  upon  the  cathode.  When 
rubbed,  these  globules  had  the  colour  and  lustre  of  plumbago, 
and,  by  friction  on  paper,  left  traces  resembling  those  pro- 
duced by  that  substance. 

About  1822,  Professor  Silliman  had  obtained  globules, 
which  were  at  first  considered  as  fused  carbon,  but  were  sub- 
sequently found  to  be  depositions  of  that  substance  trans- 
ferred from  one  electrode  to  the  other.  Several  of  these 
globules  were,  by  him,  sent  to  me  for  examination,  of  which 
none,  agreeably  to  my  recollection,  appeared  so  much  like 
products  of  fusion  as  those  lately  obtained. 

Formerly  plumbago  was  considered  as  a  carburet  of  iron, 
but  latterly,  agreeably  to  the  high  authority  of  Berzelius, 
has  been  viewed  as  carbon  holding  iron  in  a  state  of  mixture, 
not  in  that  of  chemical  combination.  It  would  not,  then,  be 
surprising  if  the  globules  which  I  obtained  consisted  of  carbon 
converted  from  the  state  of  charcoal  into  that  of  plumbago." 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  319 

At  present  artificial  graphite  is  tracing  characters  upon 
paper  in  the  millions  of  pencils  in  use.  Acheson,  in  1896, 
showed  the  world  how  such  graphite  might  be  prepared 
from  amorphous  carbon;  but  seventy-seven  years  before  this, 
Hare,  with  his  deflagrator,  converted  charcoal  into  plumbago 
(graphite)  and  with  it  traced  characters  upon  paper.  His 
epoch-making  discovery,  however,  was  forgotten!  With  his 
unique  form  of  primary  battery  and  all  its  disadvantages 
this  earnest  worker  obtained  as  we  have  just  noted  in  what 
is  truly  an  electrical  furnace,  calcium  carbide,  phosphorus, 
graphite  and  calcium  metal.  Was  he  not  indeed  the  first 
American  experimenter  and  discoverer  in  the  great  field  of 
electro-chemistry  ? 

On  another  occasion  Hare  said:  "  It  did  not  appear  to 
him  that  sufficient  attention  had  been  paid  by  artists  or 
men  of  science,  to  the  great  difference  which  existed  between 
the  effect  upon  glass  of  heating  it  by  radiation  and  by  con- 
duction. When  exposed  to  radiant  heat  alone,  unaccom- 
panied by  flame,  or  a  current  of  hot  air,  glass  is  readily 
penetrated  by  it,  and  is  heated,  within  and  without,  with 
commensurate  rapidity;  but,  in  the  case  of  its  exposure  to  an 
incandescent  vapour  or  gas,  the  caloric  could  only  penetrate 
by  the  process  of  conduction ;  and  consequently,  from  the  in- 
ferior conducting  power  of  glass,  the  temperature  of  the  outer 
and  inner  portions  of  the  mass  would  be  so  different,  as  by  the 
consequent  inequality  of  expansion  to  cause  the  fracture, 
which  was  well  known,  under  such  circumstances,  to  ensue. 

The  combustion  of  anthracite  coal,  in  an  open  grate,  in 
his  laboratory,  having  four  flues  of  about  4.12  by  2.12  inches 
each,  in  area,  just  above  the  level  of  the  grate  (the  upper 
stratum  of  the  fire,  having  nothing  between  it  and  the  ceiling) 
had  allowed  him  to  perform  some  operations  with  success, 
which  formerly  he  would  have  considered  impracticable.  The 
fire  having  attained  to  that  state  of  incandescence  to  which 


320  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

it  easily  arrives  when  well  managed,  he  had,  on  opening  a 
hole  by  means  of  an  iron  rod,  so  as  to  have  a  perpendicular 
perforation  extending  to  the  bottom  of  the  fire,  repeatedly 
fused  the  beaks  of  retorts  of  any  capacity,  not  being  more 
than  three  gallons,  causing  them  to  draw  out,  by  the  force  of 
gravity,  into  a  tapering  tube;  so  that,  on  lifting  the  beak 
from  the  fire,  and  holding  the  body  of  the  retort  upright, 
the  fused  portion  would  hang  down  so  as  to  form  an  angle 
with  the  rest  of  the  beak,  or  to  have  any  desired  obliquity.  By 
these  means,  in  a  series  of  retorts,  the  beak  of  the  first  might 
be  made  to  descend  through  the  tubulure  of  a  second ;  the  beak 
of  the  second  through  that  of  a  third,  and  so  on;  the  beak  of 
the  last  retort  in  the  row  being  made,  when  requisite,  to  enter 
a  tube  passing  through  ice  and  water  in  an  inverted  bell  glass. 

By  means  of  the  anthracite  fire,  thick  rods,  as  well  as 
stout  tubes,  might  be  softened  and  extended,  or  bent  into 
suitable  forms. 

The  lower  end  of  a  green  glass  phial,  such  as  is  used 
usually  for  Cologne  water,  might  be  made  to  draw  out  into  a 
trumpet-shaped  extremity.  A  Florence  flask  might  be  heated, 
and  made  flat,  so  as  to  answer  better  for  some  purposes.  The 
drawing  out  of  tubes  into  a  tapering  form,  suitable  for  intro- 
ducing liquids  through  retort  tubulures,  was  thus  easily 
effected ;  and  in  all  cases  the  sealing  of  large  tubes  was  better 
commenced  in  this  way,  although  the  blowpipe  might  be 
necessary  to  close  a  capillary  opening  which  could  not  be 
closed  by  the  fire." 

To  effect  the  congelation  of  water  by  the  evaporation  of 
ether,  Hare  said  it  had  been  usual  to  expose  a  bulb,  contain- 
ing water  and  moistened  by  the  ether,  to  a  current  of  air. 
Recently  he  had  succeeded  far  more  satisfactorily  by  expos- 
ing a  quantity  of  water,  twenty  times  as  large  as  that  usually 
employed,  covered  by  ether  in  a  capsule  to  a  blast  of  air, 
proceeding  from  a  vessel  in  which  it  had  been  condensed  by 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  321 

a  pressure  equal  to  one  or  two  atmospheres.  By  these  means, 
the  freezing  of  the  water  might  be  seen  by  five  hundred 
spectators. 

He  further  said  that  about  two  years  since,  he  had  pub- 
lished an  account  of  a  new  process  for  freezing  water  by 
the  evaporation  of  ether,  caused  by  a  diminution  of  atmos- 
pheric pressure.  In  the  process  then  described,  concen- 
trated sulphuric  acid  was  interposed  between  the  retort  hold- 
ing the  water  and  ether,  and  the  air  pump.  Since  that  time 
he  had  rendered  the  process  more  rapid  and  interesting  by 
interposing  an  iron  mercury  bottle,  with  two  cocks  between 
the  receiver  holding  the  acid  and  the  pump.  The  ether  and 
water  were  introduced  into  the  retort.  .  .  .  But  the 
result  which  gave  increased  interest  to  the  process,  was  the 
inconceivable  rapidity  with  which  the  acid,  under  these  cir- 
cumstances, absorbed  the  ethereal  vapour,  which  it  appeared 
to  do  with  greater  avidity  as  the  process  advanced. 

The  water,  in  the  act  of  congealing,  flew  all  over  the 
inner  surface  of  the  retort,  in  consequence  of  an  explosive 
evolution  of  ethereal  vapour,  generated  amid  the  aqueous 
particles.  The  congelation  of  the  water  was  rendered  evident 
to  the  ears  as  well  to  the  eyes  of  his  class  of  more  than  three 
hundred  students. 

It  was  not  an  uncommon  thing  for  Hare,  at  meetings  of 
the  American  Philosophical  Society,  to  describe  experiments 
carried  out  by  him  or  by  his  pupils. 

Thus,  he  showed  that  the  vapour  of  nascent  steam  gen- 
erated by  the  oxy-hydrogen  flame  was  not  productive  of 
electricity.  "  A  single-leaf  electrometer,  more  susceptible 
than  the  condensing  electrometer,  was  not  indicative  of  any 
electrical  excitement." 

He  further  demonstrated  "  that  foggy  air  is  not  a  con- 
ductor of  electricity."  The  language  of  his  experiment  was : 
21 


'        THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

"A  cup  of  hot  water,  to  supply  vapour,  was  placed  within 
a  large  bell  glass,  having  an  open  neck  of  above  three  inches 
in  diameter;  so  that  the  centre  of  the  neck  might  be  imme- 
diately under  the  positive  conductor  of  a  large  electrical 
machine.  A  knob,  communicating  with  the  negative  con- 
ductor, was  supported  in  the  centre  of  the  bell  glass.  Next 
a  red-hot  rod  of  iron  terminating  in  a  knob,  was  suspended 
by  a  wire  from  the  positive  conductor,  so  as  to  descend,  con- 
centrically, through  the  neck,  until  within  striking  distance 
of  the  knob,  above  mentioned. 

It  will  be  perceived  that,  in  consequence  of  the  high  tem- 
perature of  the  rod,  and  the  heat  radiating  from  it  to  the 
neck  of  the  bell  glass,  no  moisture  could  condense  upon 
either,  so  as  to  impair  the  power  of  the  former  to  give  sparks, 
or  of  the  latter  to  act  as  a  non-conductor. 

The  apparatus  being  thus  prepared,  and  the  machine  in 
operation,  sparks  were  found  to  pass  through  the  foggy  air 
occupying  the  cavity  of  the  bell  glass,  as  if  no  moisture  had 
been  present. 

From  the  fact  that  the  aqueous  vapour  does  not  impair 
the  insulating  power  of  air,  he  conceived,  must  justify  some 
important  meteorological  inferences." 

Nearly  every  teacher  of  chemistry  has  experienced,  some 
time  in  his  life,  a  desire  to  place  before  his  students  a  text- 
book, in  a  sense,  representative  of  his  mode  of  presenting 
his  thoughts.  Many  yield  to  this  natural  inclination  and 
thus  the  field  soon  becomes  congested  with  texts.  To  Hare, 
obliged  to  offer  his  subject  in  lecture  form,  with  a  dearth  of 
texts  to  follow,  there  must  have  come  the  feeling  that  his 
students  ought  to  be  provided  with  at  least  a  syllabus  of  the 
material  he  laid  before  them,  so  quite  early  in  his  career,  prob- 
ably in  the  year  1822,  he  had  printed  "  for  the  use  of  his 
pupils  "  his  "  Minutes  of  the  Course  of  Chemical  Instruc- 
tion "  in  vogue  in  the  University.  This  booklet,  octavo  in 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  323 

form,  passed  through  several  revisions  and  had  24  pages  with 
numerous  blank  pages  for  student  notes.  The  writer  has 
been  fortunate  enough  to  obtain  a  copy  of  this  little  classic 
and  has  found  its  perusal  absorbingly  interesting.  There 
appears  on  the  first  printed  page  these  words: 

INTRODUCTORY  LECTUEE, 

ON  THE  EISE,  PROGRESS,  AND  PEESENT  STATE, 

OF  CHEMISTRY,  AS  AN  ART,  AND  AS  A  SCIENCE. 

FIEST  LECTUEE, 
ON  THE  STUDY  OF  CHEMISTEY. 

SECOND  LECTUEE, 

ON  THE  CAUSE  OF  THE  PHENOMENA  AND  OPEEATIONS 
OF  THE  PHYSICAL  WORLD. 

The  definition  of  chemistry  reads:  "  It  treats  of  the  phe- 
nomena, and  operations  of  nature,  which  arise  from  reaction 
between  the  particles  of  inorganic  matter." 

Crystallization  and  affinity  are  developed  quite  interest- 
ingly and  in  the  fifth  lecture  the  "Atomic  Theory  "  is  ac- 
corded full  consideration.  The  laws  of  Dalton  are  concisely 
stated.  For  example,  under  multiple  proportions,  it  in- 
stances the  compounds  formed  by  Carbon  =  6  and  Oxy- 
gen =  8,  and  those  by  Nitrogen  =  14  and  Oxygen  =  8,  and 
continues : 

'  Whichever  of  the  substances  we  keep  fixed  as  to  its 
number,  the  other  or  altering  quantity  will  change  so  as  to 
give  multiples,  or  exact  aliquot  parts  of  the  first  number;  thus, 

Ox.  8  and  N.  14     — N.  14 — Ox.     8 

«  <C  it  r*        «  <(         Tig 

"        "      "      3^ —     "  "     24 

«      «      i^_     «  «     32 

"  "     40 

the  latter  is  preferable. 

Then  follows  a  table  of  about  50  known  simple  bodies  with 
their  atomic  numbers : 


324 


THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 


Hydrogen   .....  1 

Oxygen   .......  8 

Chlorine    35 

Sulphur 16 

Nitrogen 14 

Carbon    6 

Iodine    125 

Phosphorus  ....  12 

Sodium    24 

Lithium 11 

Barium 70 

Strontium 44 

Magnesium  ....  12 

Calcium 20 

Aluminium    ....  18 

Glucinum    16 

Silicium 8 


Yttrium    32 

Zirconium 28 

Fluorine    16 

Antimony 44 

Arsenic  .  ., 38 

Bismuth    71 

Cadmium 56 

Potassium 40 

Cerium 46 

Chromium 28 

Cobalt 30 

Columbium    ....  144 

Copper 64 

Gold   200 

Iridium 30 

Iron  .  28 


Lead  .  . 104 

Manganese   ....     28 

Mercury 200 

Molybdium  ....     47 

Nickel .     40 

Osmium 

Palladium 56 

Platinum 96 

Rhodiumj 44 

Selenium 40 

Silver 110 

Tin   59 

Titanium 144 

Tungsten 96 

Uranium 125 

Zinc  .  33 


These  numbers  were  said  to  be  "  expressive  of  the  relative 
combining  quantities  of  the  bodies." 

Chemists  interested  in  atomic  numbers,  to-day,  will  surely 
find  much  to  rivet  attention  in  the  preceding  table  and  also 
much  that  will  afford  food  for  quiet,  earnest  reflection.  There 
is,  further,  a  presentation  of  physical  phenomena  in  con- 
siderable detail. 

Each  successive  edition  of  the  "  Minutes  "  was  greatly 
enlarged,  but  to  advantageously  elucidate  this  text  Hare 
issued,  in  1826,  a  work  in  two  volumes,  each  of  52  octavo 
pages,  comprising  engravings  and  descriptions  of  apparatus 
and  experiments.  Its  exact  title  was:  "  Engravings  and  De- 
scriptions of  a  great  part  of  the  Apparatus  used  in  the  Chem- 
ical Course  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  With  ap- 
propriate theoretical  explanations."  Upon  examining  this 
attractive  work  it  is  at  once  seen  that  Part  I  is  devoted  to 
physical  apparatus  and  experiments,  while  Part  II  considers 
chemical  experiments  and  apparatus.  Care  is  preserved  to 
mark  those  portions  of  apparatus  contrived  by  the  author, 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  325 

or  modified  by  the  author  and  his  friend,  Silliman.  At  this 
late  day  the  volume  will  interest  all  who  care  to  examine  it. 
It  is  proof  of  the  fondness  of  Hare  for  striking  and  elaborate 
experimentation.  Its  illustrations  are  very  suggestive. 

The  success  which  followed  the  use  of  the  "  Minutes  " 
together  with  the  two  volumes  of  "  Engravings,"  induced 
Hare  to  publish  his  expanded  lectures  under  the  title  of 
"  Compendium  of  Chemistry,"  which  first  appeared  in  1827. 
It  was  primarily  intended  for  classes  in  medicine,  number- 
ing from  three  to  four  hundred.  Those  were  not  the  days 
when  laboratory  exercises  prevailed  and  were  pursued  by 
those  who  studied  the  Science,  hence  the  necessity  of  fully 
illustrating  the  lecture-room  teaching  and  the  necessity  of 
carefully  imparting  such  facts  as  the  teacher  had  in  mind. 
Four  editions  of  this  classic  work  were  given  to  the  public. 
This  is  not  the  place  to  review  its  presentations;  however, 
there  are  excerpts  which  may  be  noticed.  Opposite  the  table 
of  contents  appears  a  page  addressed  to  the  reader,  which 
begins: 

"  It  may  be  proper  to  mention,  that  in  treating  of  the 
reaction  between  particles,  or  masses  of  matter,  as  the  ultimate 
cause,  agreeably  to  the  laws  of  the  Creator,  of  the  phenomena, 
and  operations  of  the  physical  world,  and  as  the  trunk,  of 
which  repulsion  and  attraction  are  the  branches,  my  plan  is 
peculiar.  I  have  adopted  this  course,  because  it  enables  me 
to  give  definitions  of  natural  philosophy,  chemistry  and  physi- 
ology, which  appear  to  me  brief  and  appropriate. 

I  subjoin  the  following  definitions  from  some  of  the  most 
eminent  chemists. 

Thomson  defined  chemistry  to  be  "  the  science  which  treats 
of  those  events  or  changes,  in  natural  bodies,  which  are  not 
accompanied  by  sensible  motions." 

According  to  Henry,  "  it  may  be  defined,  the  science 
which  investigates  the  composition  of  material  substances,  and 


326  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

the  permanent  changes  of  constitution,  which  their  mutual 
actions  produce." 

According  to  Murray,  "  it  is  the  science  which  investigates 
the  combinations  of  matter,  and  the  laws  of  those  general 
forces,  by  which,  their  combinations  are  established  and 
subverted." 

Brande  alleges  "  that  it  is  the  object  of  chemistry,  to 
investigate  all  changes  in  the  constitution  of  matter,  whether 
effected  by  heat,  mixture,  or  other  means." 

According  to  Ure,  "  chemistry  may  be  defined  as  that 
science,  the  object  of  which  is,  to  discover  and  explain  the 
changes  of  composition  that  occur  among  the  integrant  and 
constituent  parts  of  different  bodies." 

I  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to  state  my  reasons,  for 
employing  (f  reaction  "  for <f  action  "  and  fc  react "  for  f(  act/' 
contrary  to  general  usage,  in  describing  chemical  phenomena. 
It  appears  to  me,  that  in  all  cases  where  chemical  action  is 
said  to  exist,  there  is  really  a  reciprocal  action.  Thus  nitric 
acid  is  said  to  act  upon  tin,  although  it  might  with  at  least  as 
much  propriety,  be  said,  that  tin  acts  upon  nitric  acid ;  since 
the  latter  is  decomposed  by  the  former.  In  this  case,  I  would 
say,  that  there  is  a  reaction  between  tin,  and  nitric  acid,  or 
that  tin  reacts  with  nitric  acid." 

The  second  edition  of  the  "  Compendium  "  appeared  in 
1834,  while  the  third  and  fourth  editions  followed  in  1836  and 
1840  respectively.  In  presenting  the  second  edition  this  pref- 
atory sentence  occurs : 

"  I  have  little  to  add  to  the  ideas  presented  to  the  reader 
of  the  first  edition,  but  the  accumulation  of  new  facts  makes 
it  necessary  to  add  and  alter  quite  extensively." 

Caloric  was  much  discussed.  Its  influence  in  the  ex- 
pansion of  solids,  liquids,  and  "  aeriform  fluids  "  was  experi- 
mentally shown  in  much  detail.  The  modification  of  its 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  327 

effects  by  atmospheric  pressure  was  similarly  demonstrated. 
"  The  quick  communication  of  caloric  in  radiation  "  also  re- 
ceived ample  consideration.  There  was  further  a  discussion 
of  means  of  "  evolving  caloric." 

Light,  in  its  refraction,  dispersion,  in  its  heating,  illum- 
inating and  chemical  effects,  received  much  consideration. 
Crystallization,  chemical  attraction  and  affinity  occupied 
much  space. 

The  writer  was  eager  to  observe  how  the  Daltonian  theory 
was  treated  by  Hare.  It  will  be  recalled  that  in  the 
"  Minutes  "  the  laws  of  definite  and  multiple  proportions 
were  accepted.  In  the  second  edition  of  the  "  Compendium  " 
occur,  under  the  section  on  the  atomic  theory,  these  words : 

"  Were  atoms  chemically  divisible,  ad  infinitum,  any 
one  substance,  however  small  in  quantity,  might  be  diffused, 
in  a  state  of  chemical  combination,  throughout  any  other, 
having  an  affinity  for  it,  however  great,  for  as  no  one  par- 
ticle in  the  latter,  would  exercise  a  stronger  affinity  than 
another,  it  would  be  unreasonable  that  each  should  not  have 
its  share.  That  such  a  diffusion  is  impracticable  must  be 
evident  from  the  smallness  of  the  number  of  definite  propor- 
tions to  which  substances  in  combining  are  restricted,  as 
already  mentioned  in  entering  upon  the  subject  of  equiva- 
lents. Hence  elementary  atoms  are  not  considered  as  liable 
to  an  unlimited  subdivision,  either  by  chemical  or  mechanical 
agency. 

The  ratios  of  the  equivalent  numbers  are  supposed  to  be 
dependent  on,  and  identical  with,  those  of  the  integrant 
atoms  of  the  substances  to  which  they  appertain.  Thus  the 
fact  that  32  parts,  by  weight,  of  soda  (24  +  8),  will  saturate 
as  much  of  any  acid,  as  48  parts,  of  potash,  is  explained  by 
supposing  that  the  weights  of  the  smallest  atoms,  of  those 
alkalies  which  exist,  are  to  each  other  as  32  to  48. 


328  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

In  like  manner  it  is  explained  that  when  neutral  salts  are 
made  reciprocally  to  decompose  each  other,  no  excess,  of 
either  ingredient,  is  in  any  case  observable.  The  lime,  in 
nitrate  of  lime,  is  to  the  potash,  in  an  equivalent  weight  of 
the  sulphate  of  potash,  as  28  to  48,  yet  neither  is  the  lime  in- 
competent to  take  the  place  of  the  potash,  nor  is  there  too 
much  potash  to  take  the  place  of  the  lime.  The  result  is 
intelligible,  if  we  suppose,  that  when  quantities,  just  ade- 
quate, for  reciprocal  decomposition,  are  employed,  there  is  an 
equal  number  of  atoms,  of  each  salt;  the  one  containing  as 
many  atoms  of  potash,  weighing  48,  as  the  other  contains 
atoms  of  lime  weighing  28. 

The  same  explanation  is  also  applied  to  explain  the  fact 
that  while  the  sulphuric  acid  in  the  sulphate  of  potash  is  to 
the  nitric  acid  in  the  nitrate  of  lime  as  48  to  54,  yet  neither  is 
there  too  much  of  the  latter  nor  too  little  of  the  former,  to 
produce  neutral  compounds  with  the  bases  to  which  they  are 
severally  transferred. 

On  account  of  the  hypothetical  association  of  the  numbers, 
representing  the  least  proportions  in  which  bodies  are  known 
to  combine,  with  the  supposed  relative  weight  of  their  atoms, 
those  numbers  are  as  well  known  by  the  appellation  of  atomic 
weights,  as  that  of  chemical  equivalence." 

The  list  of  elementary  substances  is  placed  at  fifty-four. 

Glucinium  and  columbium  appear.  Symbols  are  not 
given  in  the  table  of  names  of  the  elements.  These  first  ap- 
pear in  the  third  edition,  and  in  connection  therewith  Hare 
remarked:  "  In  obedience  to  the  example  of  the  British  chem- 
ists, I  employ  Po  and  So,  instead  of  K  and  Na,  as  the  symbols 
of  potassium  and  sodium." 

Not  to  encumber  the  text,  but  as  a  matter  of  curiosity  and 
to  refresh  the  memory  as  to  the  aspect  of  a  few  things  chem- 
ical in  1840,  the  table,  as  it  appears  in  the  fourth  edition  is 
here  given : 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847 


329 


Atomic 

Symbol  Weight 

Aluminium  . Al  14 

Antimony Sb  64 

Arsenic    As  38 

Barium Ba  38 

Bismuth Bi  71 

Boron .  B  11 

Bromine Br  78 

Calcium Ca  20 

Carbon C  6 

Chlorine Cl  36 

Copper Cu  32 

Fluorine F  18 

Gold Au  200 

Hydrogen    H  1 

Iodine I  126 

Iron   Fe  28 

Lead Pb  104 

Lithium L  6 

Magnesium    Mg  12 

Mercury    Hg  202 

Nitrogen    N  14 

Oxygen    O  8 

Phosphorus P  16 

Platinum PI  99 

Potassium Po  40 

Selenium Se  40 

Silicon   .                    .Si  8 


Atomic 

Symbol  Weight 

Silver Ag  108 

Sodium So  24 

Strontium    Sr  44 

Sulphur S  16 

Tellurium Te  64 

Tin Sn  59 

Zinc Zn  32 

Cadmium Cd  56 

Cerium Ce  46 

Chromium    Cr  28 

Cobalt Co  30 

Columbium Ta  185 

Glucinium    G  18 

Iridium    Ir  99 

Manganese Mn  28 

Molybdenum    Mo  48 

Nickel    .  ..Ni  30 

Osmium Os  100 

Palladium .  Pd  53 

Rhodium    .  .  .  R  52 

Thorium Th  60 

Titanium Ti  24 

Tungsten W  95 

Uranium    U  217 

Vanadium V  69 

Yttrium Y  32 

Zirconion   .               .  Zr  34 


To-day  we  appreciate  the  law  of  Dulong  and  Petit,  and 
as  to  that  of  Faraday,  how  would  the  electro-chemist  fare 
were  he  without  it?  Hence  the  attitude  of  Hare,  years  ago, 
to  these  fundamental  deductions  cannot  fail  to  arouse  a  bit  of 
curiosity.  So  we  eagerly  read : 

"It  appears  from  some  experiments  made  by  Messrs 
Petit  and  Dulong,  that  the  capacities  for  heat,  or  specific 
heats,  of  all  elementary  atoms  are  the  same;  so  that  if  the 
specific  heat  of  any  one  congeries  of  atoms  be  less  than  that 
of  another  having  the  same  weight,  it  is  because  the  atoms 


330  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

of  the  one  being  heavier  than  those  of  the  other,  there  are 
fewer  of  them  in  the  same  weight.  Hence  the  capacities,  or 
specific  heats,  of  equal  volumes  of  elementary  substances  are 
greater,  as  the  weights  of  their  atoms  are  less ;  so  that  if,  in 
the  case  of  each,  its  atomic  weight  be  multiplied  by  its  specific 
heat,  the  product  will  in  general  be  so  nearly  the  same,  that 
the  difference  may  be  ascribed  to  the  inaccuracy  unavoidable 
in  experimental  investigations. 

Respecting  this  highly  important  and  interesting  infer- 
ence of  Petit  and  Dulong,  Alexander  Dallas  Bache  has  en- 
deavored to  show  in  an  article  published  in  the  Journal  of 
the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  that  multiplying  the 
equivalents  of  twelve  principal  metals  into  their  specific  heat, 
gives  results  so  widely  deviating  from  uniformity  as  to  take 
all  plausibility  from  the  hypothesis  that  the  atoms  of  simple 
bodies  have  the  same  specific  heat. 

Dr.  Thomson  has  observed  that  this  law  is  more  likely 
to  be  true,  since  it  holds  good  without  doubt  in  the  case  of  the 
gases ;  and  that  if  it  be  true  we  have  only  to  divide  the  specific 
heat  of  hydrogen  by  the  atomic  weight  of  any  body,  to  find  its 
specific  heat.  Moreover,  that  the  specific  heats  thus  found 
agree  very  nearly  with  those  ascertained  experimentally. 

From  the  researches  of  Faraday,  it  appears  that  the  quan- 
tity of  the  voltaic  fluid  given  out  during  the  solution  of  various 
metals,  is  in  ratio  of  their  atomic  weights.  It  would  seem, 
therefore,  as  if  the  imponderable  atmospheres,  both  of  caloric 
and  electricity,  are  held  by  atoms  in  the  same  equivalent 
proportion." 

Caloric,  light  and  electricity  were  the  agents  to  which 
Hare  was  constantly  exposing  chemical  substances.  To  him 
the  galvanic  current  was  the  power  which  dominated.  There 
is,  therefore,  abundant  excuse  for  the  relatively  large  consid- 
erations accorded  these  forces  in  his  text.  It  is  most  pro- 
fusely illustrated.  The  numerous  forms  of  apparatus  were 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  331 

practically  made  by  Hare's  own  hands.  Some  of  them  were 
of  gigantic  proportions  and  his  evident  purpose  was  to  per- 
form all  experiments  upon  a  grand  scale.  A  test-tube  ex- 
periment did  not  satisfy  his  views;  it  must  be  striking — im- 
posing, if  you  please.  This  is  pardonable  in  every  way,  and 
it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  his  student  audiences,  scattered 
throughout  a  large  lecture  room,  were  really  very  large. 
They  did  not  retire  after  lectures  to  laboratories  and  there 
verify  many  of  the  facts  laid  before  them. 

His  mode  of  presentation  of  his  subject  matter  is  plainly 
indicated  in  the  following  paragraphs: 

"  Having  in  the  preceding  pages  treated  of  certain  gen- 
eral properties  of  ponderable  matter,  or  those  means  of  ascer- 
taining or  observing  them  of  which  a  knowledge  is  indis- 
pensable to  a  chemist,  I  shall,  in  the  next  place,  proceed  to 
the  consideration  of  ponderable  substances  individually,  and 
their  reactions  and  combinations  with  each  other. 

In  treating  of  ponderable  elements  and  their  multifarious 
compounds,  various  arrangements  have  been  pursued  by  dif- 
ferent writers.  Some  have  preferred  to  begin  with  elements, 
and  to  proceed  to  compounds;  others  to  begin  with  com- 
pounds, and  to  proceed  to  elements.  In  favour  of  the  last 
mentioned  course,  it  may  be  alleged,  that  the  most  interesting 
substances  in  nature  become  known  to  us  at  first,  in  a  state 
of  combination.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  air,  water,  salts, 
acids,  alkalies,  also  flesh,  sugar,  farina,  and  other  organic 
products,  valuable  either  as  food  or  as  medicine,  are  com- 
pounds which  have  been  naturally  made  the  subjects  of  chem- 
ical inquiry;  and  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  student  might 
with  advantage  be  induced  to  travel  in  those  paths,  of  which 
a  successful  pursuit  has  led  to  that  chemical  knowledge  which 
it  is  the  object  to  impart.  In  this  way  he  proceeds  from  facts 
which  he  knows,  to  such  as  he  ought  to  learn,  in  the  order 
in  which  he  would  spontaneously  advance  as  far  as  he  might 


332  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

be  competent.  But  it  may  be  objected,  that  no  sooner  are 
the  ingredients  of  a  body  stated,  than  the  student  is  dis- 
tracted by  names,  of  which  he  is  ignorant;  and  which  there 
is  an  immediate  necessity  to  explain.  Hence  it  follows  that 
the  ingredients  of  a  compound  may  come  to  be  considered 
in  immediate  succession,  when  they  may  have  no  analogy  with 
each  other;  while  it  is  highly  advantageous,  after  having 
treated  of  any  one  element,  to  proceed  to  that  which  has  the 
greatest  analogy  with  it.  In  that  case,  a  certain  portion  of  the 
conceptions  which  have  been  formed  respecting  one  element, 
may  be  extended  to  another,  with  little  mental  exertion,  and 
without  much  additional  pressure  upon  the  memory. 

The  method  first  mentioned  of  treating  of  each  elementary 
substance  first,  and  afterwards  of  compounds,  is  objection- 
able, because  it  cannot  be  put  into  practice  effectually.  To 
treat  of  the  chemical  habitudes  of  any  one  element,  requires 
that  we  should  speak  of  other  elements,  in  reacting  with 
which,  those  habitudes  are  displayed,  and  respecting  which 
a  beginner  is  of  course  ignorant.  In  pursuing  this  course, 
each  substance  must  be  treated  of  imperfectly,  or  language 
and  illustrations  employed,  which  the  student  is  unprepared 
to  understand. 

The  course  which  I  have  chosen  is  as  follows:  I  begin 
with  the  element  which,  of  all  ponderable  matter,  has  the 
most  important  part  assigned  to  it  in  nature,  I  mean  oxygen. 
The  history,  state  of  existence  in  nature,  means  of  procur- 
ing, and  properties  of  this  substance,  so  far  as  they  can  be 
rendered  intelligible  to  a  novice,  are  stated  or  exemplified 
and  explained.  In  the  next  place  to  oxygen,  I  present 
chlorine  to  attention,  which  has  at  least  as  much  analogy 
with  oxygen,  as  any  other  known  element,  and  is  at  the  same 
time,  an  agent  of  high  importance.  Having  treated  sep- 
arately of  oxygen  and  chlorine,  as  far  as  may  be  expedient, 
the  compounds  which  they  form  with  each  other,  may  in  the 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  333 

next  place,  to  a  certain  extent,  be  treated  of  with  advantage. 
Then,  guided  by  analogy,  bromine  and  iodine,  though  inferior 
in  importance,  may  be  successively  treated  of,  and  subse- 
quently all  the  compounds  which  they  can  form,  either  with 
oxygen  or  chlorine,  or  with  each  other.  This  system  will  be 
followed  in  treating  of  all  the  elements. 

Pursuant  to  this  method,  little  can  be  said  of  fluorine 
in  the  section  appropriatd  to  its  consideration,  since  those 
elements  with  which  its  most  interesting  reactions  take  place 
cannot  consistently  be  made  the  object  of  attention  under 
that  section. 

Cyanogen  is,  in  its  properties,  analogous  to  chlorine, 
bromine,  and  iodine,  yet  being  composed  of  carbon  and  nitro- 
gen, should  not  be  an  object  of  attention,  until  the  pupil  is 
prepared  by  a  knowledge  of  its  said  constituents.  Besides, 
it  comes  in  consistently  under  the  general  head  of  carbon, 
which,  agreeably  to  my  plan,  as  above  explained,  comprises 
the  compounds  of  carbon  with  all  substances  previously 
treated  of,  among  which  is  nitrogen.  .  .  . 

Of  the  fifty- four  elements,  chlorine,  bromine,  iodine  and 
fluorine  are  classed  by  Berzelius  under  the  name  of  halogen 
bodies,  or  generators  of  salts ;  while  oxygen,  sulphur,  selenium, 
and  tellurium  are  classed  together  under  the  name  of  am- 
phigen  bodies,  or  both  producers;  meaning  that  they  are 
productive  both  of  acids  and  bases.  To  the  elementary 
halogen  bodies,  he  adds  the  compound  body  cyanogen.  I 
object  to  this  classification,  that  the  word  salt  admits  of  no 
definition,  reconcilable  with  the  use  which  has  been  made  of 
it  by  the  distinguished  author;  and  because,  from  facts  and 
definitions  practically  sanctioned  by  him,  and  chemists  in 
general,  it  is  evident  that  the  elements  belonging  to  both  of 
his  classes  are  productive  of  acids  and  bases.  Hence  I  have 
associated  them  in  one  class,  under  the  appellation  of  basaci- 
gen  elements.  In  honour  of  Berzelius,  I  shall,  however, 


334  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

retain  the  terms  halogen  and  amphigen,  in  order  to  designate 
the  elements  which  he  has  distinguished  by  those  names.  It 
may  be  proper  to  add  that  we  owe  to  Berzelius  himself  the 
idea  that  any  other  substance  besides  oxygen  could  form  acids 
and  bases  capable  of  uniting  to  form  salts.  Our  knowledge 
of  the  existence  of  this  faculty  in  three  of  his  amphigen  ele- 
ments, sulphur,  selenium,  and  tellurium,  is,  I  believe,  entirely 
due  to  his  investigations.  If  chemists,  myself  among  others, 
who  consider  his  double  salts  as  consisting  of  acids  and  bases, 
are  in  the  right,  it  is  to  the  light  afforded  by  his  brilliant  dis- 
coveries that  we  owe  the  ability  to  pursue  the  true  path. 

Before  concluding  this  preliminary  exposition  of  the 
classification  and  nomenclature  which  I  propose  to  adopt,  I 
wish  to  make  it  clear,  that  the  attribute  of  producing  both 
acids  and  bases,  which,  agreeably  to  the  plan  of  Berzelius, 
is  restricted  to  his  four  amphigen  elements,  is,  agreeably 
to  mine,  extended  to  the  elements  comprised  in  both  of  his 
classes,  which  are  consequently  united  under  one  designation, 
as  basacigen  elements.  My  basacigen  class  is,  therefore,  the 
amphigen  class  of  Berzelius,  enlarged  under  a  new  and  more 
descriptive  name,  so  as  to  take  in  both  of  his  halogen  and 
amphigen  classes. 

In  order  to  render  the  definition  of  a  basacigen  body 
precise,  it  may  be  necessary  that  I  should  give  a  definition  of 
acidity  and  basidity. 

And  then  at  considerable  length  he  proceeds  to  enunciate 
his  views  as  set  forth  on  p.  221,  etc. 

Let  us  hear  him  speak  of  oxygen. 

'  In  the  gaseous  state,  oxygen  forms  one-fifth  of  the 
atmosphere  in  bulk;  and  as  a  constituent  of  water  in  the  ratio 
of  eight  parts  in  nine,  it  pervades  every  part  of  the  creation 
where  that  important  compound  is  to  be  found.  It  exists  in 
that  congeries  of  oxidized  matter  which  we  call  earth,  and  is 
a  principal  and  universal  constituent  of  animal  and  vegetable 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  335 

matter.  Its  combinations  with  metals  and  various  other 
combustibles  are  of  the  highest  importance  in  the  arts.  It 
was  called  oxygen  under  the  erroneous  impression  of  its 
being  the  sole  acidifying  principle,  from  the  Greek  6£i;$ 
acid,  and  yivoviai  to  generate. 

It  can  only  be  isolated  in  the  form  of  a  gas.  It  is  yielded 
by  red  lead,  nitre,  or  black  oxide  of  manganese,  when  exposed 
to  a  bright  red  heat  in  an  iron  bottle.  There  are  various  other 
means  of  obtaining  oxygen  gas.  It  is  generally  supposed 
that,  in  order  to  obtain  it  in  a  high  degree  of  purity,  chlorate 
of  potash  must  be  employed ;  but  I  have  found  the  first  por- 
tions of  the  gas  as  evolved  by  a  red  heat  from  nitrate  of  potash 
or  nitrate  of  soda  very  nearly  pure ;  and  Dr.  Thomson  alleges 
that  this  salt,  by  exposure  to  a  carefully  regulated  heat,  parts 
with  one-fifth  of  the  oxygen  of  its  acid  in  a  state  of  purity; 
or  in  other  words,  it  gives  up  an  atom  of  oxygen  for  every 
atom  of  the  salt,  which  is  equal  to  8  parts  of  102  parts,  or 
rather  more  than  one- thirteenth." 

While  of  chlorine  he  said,  "  It  has  a  curious  property, 
first  noticed  by  me,  I  believe,  of  exciting  a  sensation  of 
warmth;  though  a  thermometer,  immersed  in  it  at  the  same 
time,  does  not  indicate  that  its  temperature  is  greater  than  that 
of  the  adjoining  medium.  .  «  .  About  thirty  years  ago, 
chlorine  gas  was  universally  considered  as  a  compound  of 
muriatic  acid  and  oxygen.  It  is  now  deemed  an  elementary 
substance,  rendered  gaseous  by  caloric." 

In  the  course  of  his  discussion  on  chemical  subjects,  in 
connection  with  combustion,  Hare  remarks: 

"  I  would  define  combustion  to  be  a  state  of  intense  cor- 
puscular reaction,  accompanied  by  an  evolution  of  heat  and 
light. 

That  increase  or  diminution  of  temperature  consequent 
to  chemical  combination,  which  constitutes  combustion  when 


336  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

productive  of  heat  and  light,  has  been  ascribed  to  a  mysterious 
law,  by  which  bodies  undergo  a  change  in  their  capacity  to 
hold  caloric.  It  has  been  supposed  that  the  capacity  of  the 
compound  is  in  some  instances  greater,  in  others  less,  than 
the  mean  capacity  of  the  constituents ;  and  that  in  the  former 
case  union  is  followed  by  an  absorption  of  caloric,  and  of 
course,  by  cold;  in  the  latter,  by  production  of  heat.  Yet, 
when  the  capacities  of  compounds  are  compared  with  those 
of  their  ingredients,  the  result  does  not  justify  the  idea  that 
the  heat  given  out  by  the  latter  in  combining,  is  produced 
by  a  diminution  of  capacity.  At  best,  this  hypothesis  only 
substitutes  one  enigma  for  another;  since  it  does  not  account 
for  the  alleged  change  of  capacity. 

The  diversity  of  power  to  hold  caloric  in  a  latent  state, 
technically  designated  by  the  word  capacity,  is  now  generally 
ascribed  to  the  intervening  influence  of  electricity.  It  has 
been  shown  that,  if  neighboring  bodies  be  electrified,  by  means 
either  of  gas  or  resin,  previously  subjected  to  friction,  they 
will  repel  each  other ;  but  that  if  one  be  thus  excited  by  glass, 
and  another  by  resin,  attraction  between  them  will  ensue. 
Hence  the  excitements  are  considered  of  an  opposite  nature. 
It  will  be  recollected  that,  according  to  the  Franklinian  theory, 
the  vitreous  excitement  results  from  a  redundancy;  the 
resinous,  from  a  deficiency  of  the  electrical  fluid.  The  former 
being  designated  as  positive,  the  latter  as  negative  electricity. 
Agreeably  to  the  doctrine  of  Duffay,  the  different  electric 
excitements  are  considered  as  the  effects  of  two  different 
fluids,  attractive  of  each  other,  but  self -repellent.  The  one 
has  accordingly  been  called  resinous,  the  other  vitreous  elec- 
tricity. Yet,  even  by  electricians,  who  suppose  the  existence 
of  two  fluids,  the  terms  positive  and  negative  are  employed. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  Voltaic  phenomena,  combus- 
tion, acidity,  alkalinity,  and  chemical  affinity,  may  owe  their 
existence  to  the  principle  by  which  the  different  electric  ex- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  337 

citements  are  sustained  in  electrified  bodies,  modified  in  some 
inexplicable  manner,  so  as  to  act  between  atoms  instead  of 
masses.  This  suggestion  derives  strength  from  the  follow- 
ing facts,  which  have  been  fully  illustrated  in  my  lectures 
on  electricity  and  galvanism. 

The  pole  of  a  Voltaic  series,  terminated  by  the  more  ox- 
idizable  metal,  has  been  shown  to  display  a  feeble  electrical 
excitement,  of  the  same  kind  as  that  which  is  producible  by 
friction  in  glass;  while  the  other  pole  displays  the  opposite 
excitement,  in  like  manner  producible  in  resin.  From  reiter- 
ated experimental  observation  it  is  now  generally  inferred, 
that,  of  any  two  elementary  atoms,  chemically  combined, 
and  simultaneously  exposed,  to  the  voltaic  current,  one  will 
go  to  the  positive,  the  other  to  the  negative  pole.  Atoms  are 
supposed  to  have  electrical  states  the  opposite  of  those  of  the 
poles  at  which  they  may  be  liberated,  and  are  said  to  be  elec- 
tro-negative when  liberated  at  the  positive  pole,  or  anode ;  elec- 
tro-positive when  liberated  at  the  negative  pole,  or  cathode. 

Substances  which  have  opposite  relations  to  the  Voltaic 
poles,  have  an  affinity  for  each  other,  which  is  usually  stronger 
in  proportion  as  the  diversity  of  their  electric  habitudes  is 
the  more  marked.  Thus,  for  instance,  oxygen,  which  is  pre- 
eminently electro-negative,  and  potassium,  which  is  pre-emi- 
nently electro-positive,  have  under  ordinary  circumstances, 
a  predominant  affinity  for  each  other. 

On  all  sides  it  must  be  admitted  that  between  chemical 
reaction,  galvanism,  and  electro-magnetism,  there  is  an  in- 
timate association  which  must  be  explained  before  the  phe- 
nomena of  chemical  reaction  can  be  well  understood. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that,  of  known  bodies,  oxygen 
appears  to  be  the  most  electro-negative.  It  is  questionable 
whether  the  grade  next  to  oxygen,  in  the  electro-negative 
scale,  is  to  be  assigned  to  chlorine  or  fluorine.  After  these 
follow  bromine,  iodine,  sulphur,  selenium,  and  tellurium. 

22 


338  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

Among  the  metals  we  have  a  series  of  substances,  vary- 
ing from  those  in  which  the  electro-positive  power  is  pre- 
eminently great,  as  in  potassium,  sodium,  lithium,  barium, 
calcium,  magnesium,  &c.,  to  such  metals  as  belong  rather  to 
the  electro-negative  class.  Hence,  setting  out  from  the  ex- 
treme above  mentioned,  we  may  proceed  through  a  long  range 
of  metals  less  and  less  electro-positive,  till  we  arrive  at  such 
as  produce  electro-negative  combinations  with  oxygen  or 
chlorine,  or  both.  More  or  less  within  this  predicament,  I 
think  we  find  tin,  mercury,  gold,  platinum,  palladium,  anti- 
mony, arsenic,  molybdenum,  and  lastly  tellurium.  Thus  at 
the  intermediate  point  between  the  extremes  at  which  oxygen 
and  the  alkalifiable  metals  are  placed,  there  are  substances 
whose  relation  to  the  Voltaic  poles  is  equivocal  or  wavering; 
and  it  should  be  understood  that  this  relation  is  always  com- 
parative. Chlorine  is  electro-positive  with  oxygen  and  perhaps 
fluorine,  and  electro-negative  with  every  other  body.  Iodine  is 
electro-positive  with  oxygen,  chlorine,  bromine,  and  probably 
fluorine,  while  with  other  substances  it  is  electro-negative. 

Substances  of  the  two  opposite  classes,  in  combining  with 
each  other,  constitute  compounds  which  are  either  electro- 
positive or  electro-negative,  accordingly  as  the  different  ener- 
gies of  their  ingredients  preponderate.  Thus  in  alkalies,  con- 
sisting of  oxygen  united  with  the  alkalifiable  metals,  the  elec- 
tro-positive influence  predominates;  while  the  reverse  is  true 
of  acids,  consisting  of  the  same  electro-negative  principle, 
oxygen,  in  combination  with  sulphur,  nitrogen,  phosphorus, 
carbon,  boron,  silicon,  selenium,  or  other  substances,  which  in 
their  electrical  habitudes,  lie  between  oxygen  and  those  metals. 

In  some  cases  we  see  an  electro-negative  or  electro-posi- 
tive power  attached  to  compounds,  which  is  not  equally  dis- 
played by  either  of  their  constituent  elements  separately. 
Cyanogen,  consisting  of  carbon  and  nitrogen,  is  a  striking 
instance  of  an  electro-negative  compound  thus  constituted; 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  339 

and  in  ammonia,  and  the  vegetable  alkalies  lately  discovered, 
we  have  instances  of  electro-positive  compounds,  produced 
from  principles  comparatively  electro-negative. 

For  any  further  view  of  the  connexion  between  chemical 
and  galvanic  reaction,  I  refer  to  my  Treatise  on  Galvanism, 
or  Voltaic  Electricity. 

OF  THE  INFLUENCE  ON  CLASSIFICATION  AND  NOMENCLATURE 
OF  THE  HABITUDES  OF  CHEMICAL  AGENTS  WITH  THE 
VOLTAIC  SERIES. 

It  would  follow  from  the  statements  made  under  the  last 
head,  that  there  should  be  a  resemblance  between  the  prop- 
erties of  substances  which  have  a  proximity  to  each  other,  in 
the  electric  series.  Accordingly  we  find,  that  those  which 
occupy  the  higher  part  of  the  electro-negative  scale,  have,  by 
distinguished  writers,  especially  in  Great  Britain,  been  classed 
as  supporters;  while  those  which  are  electro-positive,  or  feebly 
electro-negative,  have  been  by  the  same  authors  classed  as 
combustibles.  Also,  certain  electro-negative  compounds, 
formed  of  the  pre-eminently  electro-negative  principles,  have 
been  associated  as  acids;  while  other  compounds,  of  oxygen 
at  least,  which  have  the  opposite  polarity,  have  been  asso- 
ciated as  bases,  under  some  of  the  subordinate  divisions  of 
alkalies,  alkaline  earths,  earths  proper,  or  simply  oxides. 

The  idea  of  a  class  of  supporters  of  combustion,  and  of 
combustibles,  has  no  better  foundation  than  that  certain  sub- 
stances are  the  most  frequent  agents  in  combustion.  Thus 
hydrogen  will  produce  fire  with  oxygen  and  chlorine  only; 
sulphur  with  oxygen,  chlorine,  and  the  metals;  and  carbon 
with  oxygen ;  but  as  either  oxygen  or  chlorine  will  burn  with 
a  greater  variety  of  substances,  they  have  been  called  sup- 
porters of  combustion,  and  the  substances  with  which  they 
combine  during  the  combustion,  combustibles.  Iodine  and 
latterly  bromine  have  been  classed  among  the  supporters; 
because  they  combine  with  almost  all  the  bodies  with  which 


340  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

the  other  elements  classed  under  the  name  unite,  and  in 
some  cases  with  an  evolution  of  heat  and  light.  Yet  they 
are  not  gaseous  like  oxygen  and  chlorine,  and  are  as  anal- 
ogous to  sulphur  as  to  oxygen.  There  appears  to  me  to  be 
an  error  in  taking  either  of  these  substances  into  the  class 
of  supporters,  while  sulphur  is  excluded,  which,  next  to  oxy- 
gen and  chlorine,  has  the  property  of  burning  with  the 
greatest  number  of  substances.  In  other  respects  sulphur 
seems,  in  its  properties,  to  be  intermediate  between  iodine 
and  phosphorus.  The  habitudes  of  selenium  appear  to 
range  between  those  of  tellurium  and  sulphur. 

Hydrogen,  phosphorus,  carbon,  boron,  silicon  are  no  more 
entitled  to  be  called  combustibles,  than  oxygen,  chlorine, 
bromine,  and  iodine,  &c.,  to  be  called  supporters.  It  should 
be  observed,  also,  that  these  appellations  are  evidently  corn- 
mutable  according  to  circumstances;  since  a  jet  of  oxygen, 
fired  in  hydrogen,  is  productive  of  a  flame,  similar  to  the 
inflamed  jet  of  hydrogen  on  oxygen.  If  we  breathed  in  an 
atmosphere  of  hydrogen,  oxygen  would  be  considered  as  in- 
flammable, and  of  course  a  combustible.  The  arrangement 
which  I  have  adopted  of  classifying  as  basacigen  bodies,  those 
which  have  heretofore  been  treated  as  supporters,  with  the 
addition  of  some  others,  renders  it  unnecessary  to  resort  to 
the  incorrect  division  into  supporters  and  combustible. 

METHOD  OF  DISTINGUISHING  DEGREES  OF  OXIDIZEMENT, 
DERIVED  FROM  THE  SCHOOL  OF  LAVOISIER. 

The  method  which,  in  concurrence  with  Thenard,  I  have 
pursued  in  designating  in  the  case  of  the  compounds  formed 
by  the  basacigen  bodies  with  radicals,  the  proportion  of  the 
former  ingredient  has  been  stated. 

In  the  case  of  oxacids  another  method  was  adopted  by  the 
Lavoisierian  School,  which,  with  some  modification,  still  en- 
dures, and  which  I  shall  state  as  it  now  prevails. 

Agreeably  to  the  nomenclature  in  question,  where,  in 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  341 

consequence  of  different  degrees  of  oxidizement  substances 
form  two  acids,  one  containing  a  larger,  the  other  a  lesser 
proportion  of  oxygen,  the  acid,  having  the  lesser  proportion, 
is  distinguished  by  the  name  of  the  substance  oxygenated, 
and  a  termination  in  ous;  as  sulphurous  acid  and  sulphuric 
acid.  That  ingredient  in  an  acid  or  a  base,  which  is  least 
electro-negative,  is  called  the  radical.  When  an  acid  is  dis- 
covered having  less  oxygen  than  one  with  the  same  radical 
of  which  the  name  ends  with  ous,  the  word  hypo  is  prefixed. 
Hence  the  appellations,  hyponitrous,  A^osulphurous.  The 
same  means  of  distinction  is  employed  to  designate  a  degree 
of  oxygenation  exceeding  that  designated  by  ous,  but  less 
than  that  designated  by  ic.  Hence  the  name  %^osulphuric. 
If  there  be  an  acid  having  still  more  oxygen  than  the  one 
of  which  the  name  ends  in  ic,  the  letters  oxy  are  prefixed. 

Acids  of  which  the  names  terminate  in  ous,  have  their 
salts  distinguished  by  a  termination  in  ite.  Acids  of  which 
the  names  end  in  ic,  have  their  salts  distinguished  by  a  ter- 
mination in  ate.  Thus  we  have  nitrites  and  nitrates,  sulphites 
and  sulphates.  If  the  base  be  in  excess,  the  word  sub  is  pre- 
fixed, as  s^frsulphate.  If  the  acid  be  in  excess,  super  is  pre- 
fixed, as  super  sulphate.  The  letters  bi  are  placed  before  the 
name  of  salts  having  a  double  proportion  of  acid ;  hence  car- 
bonate and  bicarbonate. 

The  oxide  in  which  the  oxidizement  is  supposed  to  be  at 
the  maximum  is  called  the  ^roxide.  This  monosyllable,  per, 
is  also  used  in  the  case  of  acids,  to  signify  the  highest  state 
of  oxygenation,  and  has  been  substituted  for  oxy  in  the  case 
of  perchloric  acid.  Many  chemists  apply  the  monosyllable 
in  question  to  distinguish  a  salt  formed  with  a  peroxide. 
Thus  the  red  sulphate  of  iron  has  been  called  the  persulphate 
of  iron;  the  nitrate  of  the  red  oxide  of  mercury,  the  per- 
nitrate  of  mercury.  Agreeably  to  a  similar  rule,  salts  formed 
with  protoxides  have  the  word  proto  prefixed;  as  in  the 
instances  of  ^rotonitrate,  profosulphate,  &c. 


342  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  by  the  British  chemists 
the  binary  compounds  of  oxygen,  chlorine,  bromine,  iodine, 
fluorine,  and  cyanogen,  when  not  acid,  are  designated  by  the 
termination  in  ide. 

The  word  oxide  has  been  erroneously  used  as  a  correla- 
tive of  the  word  acid,  instead  of  being  used  as  a  generic  name 
for  any  compound  of  oxygen,  whether  an  acid  or  base.  I 
should  deem  it  preferable  to  apply  the  termination  in  ide,  to 
all  compounds  of  the  basacigen  bodies,  whether  acids,  bases 
or  neutral,  employing  the  words  acid  and  base  as  termina- 
tions to  indicate  the  subordinate  electro-negative,  and  elec- 
tro-positive compounds.  In  that  case  oxybase,  chloribase, 
ftuobase,  bromibase,  iodobase,  cyanobase,  sulphobase,  seleni- 
base,  telluribase,  would  stand  in  opposition  to  oxacid,  chlor- 
acid,  bromacid,  iodacid,  cyanacid,  sulphacid,  selenacid,  tellur- 
acid.  Yet  for  convenience,  the  generic  termination  ide  might 
be  used  without  any  misunderstanding;  and  so  far  the  pre- 
vailing practice  might  remain  unchanged.  Resort  to  either 
appellation  would  not,  agreeably  to  custom,  be  necessary  in 
speaking  of  salts  or  other  compounds  analogous  to  them; 
since  it  is  deemed  sufficient  to  mention  the  radical,  as  if  the 
salt  consisted  of  an  acid  combined  with  a  radical,  not  an 
oxide.  Ordinarily  we  say  sulphate  of  lead,  not  sulphate  of 
the  oxide  of  lead.  This  last  mentioned  expression  is  resorted 
to,  only  where  great  precision  is  desirable.  In  such  cases,  it 
might  be  better  to  say  sulphate  of  the  oxybase  of  lead. 

The  method  of  indicating  the  proportion  of  oxygen  in  an 
oxide,  by  changing  the  termination  from  ous  to  ic,  has  been 
generally  adopted  only  in  the  case  of  the  protoxide,  and 
bioxide  of  nitrogen,  the  former  being  usually  called  nitrous 
oxide,  the  latter  nitric  oxide.  In  the  Berzelian  nomenclature, 
this  method  of  discrimination  has  been  extended  to  all  the 
compounds  formed  with  amphigen  and  halogen  elements. 
Hence  we  have  chlorure  mercureux,  and  chlorure  mercurique, 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  343 

for  the  protochloride,  and  bichloride  of  mercury;  and  again, 
oxide  mercureux  and  oxide  mercurique  for  the  protoxide  and 
bioxide  of  the  same  metal.  These  Berzelian  names  trans- 
lated into  English  would  make  mer curious  chloride  and  mer- 
curic chloride,  mercurious  oxide  and  mercuric  oxide. 

It  should  be  understood  that  the  employment  of  the  ter- 
minations in  eux  and  ique,  which  in  French  answer  for  ic  and 
ous  in  English,  is  extended,  by  Berzelius,  to  the  case  of  all 
oxides,  whether  acids  or  bases.  These  words  are,  in  my 
opinion,  neither  agreeable  to  the  ear,  nor  sufficiently  definite 
and  descriptive.  In  the  received  nomenclature,  besides  the 
case  above  cited  of  the  bioxide  of  nitrogen,  the  only  other  in- 
stance, of  the  employment  of  the  letters  ic  to  designate  an 
oxide,  is  that  of  the  protoxide  of  carbon,  called  carbonic  oxide. 

OF  THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  ERRONEOUS  IDEA  OF  A  PONDERABLE 
ACIDIFYING   PRINCIPLE. 

At  the  period  when  the  French  nomenclature  was  adopted, 
oxygen  was  considered  as  the  sole  acidifying  principle,  whence 
its  name  as  already  stated.  Of  course,  every  acid  being  sup- 
posed to  consist  of  oxygen  in  part,  it  was  enough  to  call  it  an 
acid  to  convey  a  correct  idea  of  its  composition  in  that  respect. 
But  when,  at  a  subsequent  period,  it  was  shown  that  many 
acids  were  destitute  of  oxygen,  and  that  other  substances  were 
nearly  as  efficient  as  oxygen  in  generating  acids  by  a  union 
with  acidifiable  bodies,  it  became  necessary  to  prefix  syllables 
in  order  to  distinguish  the  acid  compounds  produced  by  one 
acidifying  principle,  from  those  produced  by  others.  The 
term  acidifying  principle  originated  with  the  error  of  assign- 
ing that  character  exclusively  to  oxygen.  From  convenience, 
more  than  any  conviction  of  its  propriety,  it  was  afterwards 
used  occasionally  in  reference  to  chlorine,  hydrogen,  and 
other  elements  which  are  found  to  produce  acids  by  combin- 
ing with  a  variety  of  substances.  It  must  be  obvious  that 
there  is  no  adequate  reason  for  considering  any  ponderable 
element  as  an  acidifying  principle. 


344  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

Subsequently  to  the  creation  of  the  word  oxygen,  the 
word  radical  was  employed  to  designate  an  oxidizable  sub- 
stance. It  has  since  been  extended  by  me  to  all  substances 
which  form  acids  or  bases  with  the  basacigen  bodies. 

OF   ACIDITY 

Acidity  and  sourness  were  originally  synonymous.  By 
some  of  the  older  chemists,  the  solvent  power  of  certain  acid 
or  sour  liquids,  was  ascribed  to  the  sharpness  of  their  con- 
stituent particles.  To  this  acuteness  in  form,  the  power  of 
penetrating  and  severing  the  combinations  of  other  particles 
was  attributed.  With  people  in  general,  the  words  acid,  and 
acidity,  still  retain  their  original  signification ;  but  by  modern 
chemists,  substances  are  associated  as  acids  which  are  destitute 
of  sourness,  and  which  are  extremely  discordant  in  their 
obvious  properties.  Thus  we  have  in  the  group  of  acids,  sul- 
phuric acid,  and  flint,  vinegar  and  the  tanning  principle;  also 
the  volatile  and  odoriferous  liquid,  called  prussic  acid,  and 
the  unctuous,  insoluble,  inert,  concrete  material  for  candles, 
called  margaric  acid.  It  might  naturally  excite  the  curi- 
osity of  the  learner,  to  know  by  what  common  characteristic 
substances  so  discordant  had  been  affiliated.  It  would  be 
inferred  that  there  should  be  some  test  of  acidity,  by  which 
to  determine  whether  a  new  compound  should  belong  to  the 
class  of  acids  or  not.  I  am  utterly  ignorant  of  any  other 
common  characteristic,  in  these  otherwise  heterogeneous  sub- 
stances, besides  that  common  preference  for  the  poles,  or 
electrodes,  of  the  Voltaic  series,  on  which  I  have  founded  my 
definition  of  acidity  and  basidity;  coupled  with  the  inference, 
mentioned  in  a  note,  that  any  compound  capable  of  neutral- 
izing a  base,  is  deemed  to  be  an  acid;  and  vice  versa,  any 
compound  capable  of  neutralizing  an  acid,  is  deemed  to  be  a 
base.  To  me  it  is  quite  evident  that  it  is  only  upon  one  or 
the  other  of  these  characteristics,  that  many  organic  com- 
pounds which  are  called  acids,  or  bases,  can  have  any  pre- 
tensions to  be  designated  as  they  are. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  345 

Among  the  characteristics  of  acidity  heretofore  relied  on, 
is  that  of  reddening  vegetable  blues.  By  the  soluble  acids, 
this  property  is  generally  possessed,  although  an  aqueous 
solution  of  sulphurous  acid  is  said  to  whiten  litmus;  the  vege- 
table blue  is  generally  employed  as  a  test  of  acidity. — But 
indigo  is  not  reddened  by  any  acid,  although  by  nitric  acid 
it  is  destroyed.  Solubility,  though  usually  a  property  of 
acids,  is  in  many  cases  wanting,  as  in  those  of  margaric  and 
stearic  acid,  and  others  of  similar  origin.  The  acid  proper- 
ties of  silicic,  and  boric,  acid,  are  displayed  at  temperatures 
incompatible  with  any  other  solubility,  than  that  which  is 
effected  by  the  agency  of  caloric. 

OF   ALKALINITY 

Among  the  metallic  oxides  which,  agreeably  to  the  defini- 
tions above  given,  are  considered  as  bases,  there  are  a  certain 
number  which  are  called  alkalies,  on  account  of  some  peculiar- 
ities which  I  shall  proceed  to  mention. 

All  the  alkalies  have  a  peculiar  taste,  called  alkaline. 
They  all  produce,  in  certain  vegetable  colours,  characteristic 
changes,  which  differ  according  to  the  matter  subjected  to 
them,  but  are  not  varied  by  changing  the  alkali. 

They  restore  colours  changed  by  acids,  and  are  capable 
of  neutralizing  acidity. 

Acids  neutralize  alkalies,  and  restore  colours  destroyed  by 
them.  Acids  do  not  usually  combine  with  acids,  nor  alkalies 
with  alkalies,  but  acids  and  alkalies  unite  energetically  with 
each  other. 

By  the  reaction  of  alkalies  with  oils,  soaps  are  generated, 
which  are  soluble  in  water. 

Besides  the  alkalies  above  named,  there  are  four  other 
metallic  oxides,  those  of  magnesium,  barium,  and  strontium, 
for  instance,  which  have  been  called  earths,  and  which,  in 
different  degrees  of  intensity,  have  all  the  alkaline  properties 
above  mentioned,  excepting  that,  if  not  insoluble,  they  have 


346  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

an  inferior  solubility  and  that  they  do  not  form  soluble  soaps. 

There  are  also  some  vegetable  compounds  which  possess, 
to  a  sufficient  extent,  the  attributes  of  alkalies,  to  be  classed 
among  them. 

According  to  Bonsdorff,  the  halogen  elements  of  Berzelius 
produce  bases,  which  in  some  cases  display  alkalinity.  He  has 
noticed  a  change  of  colour,  indicating  an  alkaline  reaction,  on 
litmus  paper,  reddened  previously  by  an  acid,  and  dipped  into 
a  solution  of  a  chloride,  either  of  calcium,  magnesium,  or  zinc. 

I  infer  that  acidity,  basidity,  alkalinity,  and  galvanic 
polarity,  are  due  to  some  inscrutable  influence  of  the  impon- 
derable cause,  or  causes,  or  heat,  light,  and  electricity.  To  a 
like  influence  I  ascribe  the  sweetness  of  sugar,  the  pungency 
of  mustard  or  pepper,  and  of  essential  oils,  as  well  as  the 
endless  variety  of  odour  with  which  these  last  mentioned 
products  are  endowed.  It  is  evident  that  in  the  organic 
alkalies  and  acids,  alkalinity  and  acidity  are  found  to  be  asso- 
ciated with  combinations  of  ponderable  elementary  atoms, 
which  exist  in  other  combinations  without  inducing  alkalinity 
or  acidity." 

And  he  further  commented  on  the  nomenclature  of  the 
cyanogen  compounds. 

The  union  of  hydrogen  fluoride  with  either  boron  fluoride 
or  silicon  fluoride  is  discussed  as  follows  by  Hare: 

"  The  union  which  ensues  between  fluohydric  acid,  and 
either  fluoboric,  or  fluosilicic  acid,  agreeably  to  the  preceding 
statement,  may  appear  anomalous,  in  the  way  in  which  it  has 
hitherto  been  treated.  If,  however,  I  am  correct  in  my  mode 
of  defining  the  difference  between  an  acid  and  a  base,  the 
combinations  in  question  will  not  prove  to  be  anomalous.  I 
deem  it  consistent  to  suppose  that  a  fluobase  of  hydrogen 
united,  in  the  one  case,  with  fluoboric  acid,  in  the  other  with 
fluosilicic  acid;  so  that  fluohydroboric  acid  might  be  called 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  347 

fluoborate  of  the  fluobase  of  hydrogen,  or  more  briefly  fluo- 
borate  of  hydrogen;  and  in  like  manner,  fluohydrosilicic  acid 
would  be  called  fluosilicate  of  the  fluobase  of  hydrogen,  or 
briefly  fluosilicate  of  hydrogen. 

When  either  fluohydroboric  acid,  or  fluohydrosilicic  acid, 
or  in  other  words  the  fluoborate  or  fluosilicate  of  the  fluobase 
of  hydrogen,  is  brought  into  contact  with  an  oxybase,  the 
radical  of  the  latter  takes  the  place  of  the  hydrogen,  which, 
with  its  oxygen,  forms  water.  Thus,  in  the  case  of  potash, 
there  would  result  a  fluobase  of  potassium,  usurping  the 
place  of  the  fluobase  of  hydrogen ;  and  of  course  either  a  fluo- 
silicate, or  fluoborate  of  potassium  must  be  formed.  Agree- 
ably to  the  Berzelian  nomenclature,  these  compounds  are 
double  salts,  the  name  of  one  being  in  the  French  transla- 
tion, "fluorure  borico-potassique"  that  of  the  other,  frfluo- 
rure  silico-potassique."  Many  analogous  salts,  formed  by 
the  acids  under  consideration,  with  salifiable  substances,  are 
mentioned  by  Berzelius;  also  many  others,  in  which  other 
radicals,  in  union  with  fluorine,  play  a  part  analogous  to  that 
performed  by  silicon  and  boron,  in  the  salts  above  mentioned. 

There  are  instances  in  which  compounds,  usually  called 
bases,  act  as  acids.  Of  course,  it  is  consistent  that  com- 
pounds, usually  called  acids,  should  in  some  instances  act  as 
bases.  In  this  respect,  a  striking  analogy  may  be  observed 
between  the  union  of  the  oxide  of  hydrogen  (water)  with 
the  oxacids  and  oxybases;  and  that  of  fluoride  of  hydrogen 
with  fluacids  and  fluobases.  According  to  Berzelius,  water 
acts  as  a  base  of  oxacids ;  as  an  acid  to  oxybases.  So  I  con- 
ceive the  fluoride  of  hydrogen  acts  as  a  base  in  the  cases 
above  noticed,  while  it  acts  as  an  acid  in  the  compound  of 
hydrogen,  fluorine,  and  potassium,  called  by  Berzelius  "  fluo- 
rure potassique  acide."  This  compound  I  would  call  a  fluo- 
hydrate  of  the  fluobase  of  potassium,  or  more  briefly,  fluo- 
hydrate  of  potassium;  as  we  say  sulphate  of  copper,  instead 
of  the  sulphate  of  the  oxide  (or  oxybase)  of  copper.  .  .  ." 


348  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

Salts  were  described  in  much  detail.  And,  in  the  pages 
which  precede  there  is  quite  a  bit  of  evidence  of  the  views 
entertained  by  Hare  on  topics  in  the  inorganic  field.  It  will 
be  most  interesting  to  follow  him  in  "  Organic  Chemistry  " — 
"  the  chemistry  of  organic  substances."  In  the  introduction, 
among  others,  occur  these  sentences: 

"  It  is  generally  a  marked  distinction,  between  organic 
and  inorganic  products,  that  the  latter  can,  in  a  much  greater 
number  of  instances,  be  imitated  by  art.  The  incompetency 
of  chemists  to  regenerate  the  substances  analyzed  by  them, 
has  caused  the  accuracy  of  their  deductions  to  be  questioned. 
Rousseau  having  heard  Rouelle  lecture  on  farinaceous  mat- 
ter, said  he  would  not  confide  in  any  analysis  of  it,  till  cor- 
roborated by  its  reproduction  from  the  elements  with  which 
it  was  alleged  to  have  been  resolved.  .  .  ." 

What  would  that  savant  say  could  he  now  behold  the 
synthetic  conquests  in  the  organic  domain,  e.g.,  that  of  in- 
digo, alizarin,  etc.,  etc.? 

"At  first  view  it  may  seem  reasonable  to  consider  syn- 
thesis as  the  only  satisfactory  test  of  the  truth  of  analysis. 
But  if  when  diamond  is  burned  in  one  bell  glass  and  charcoal 
in  another,  in  different  portions  of  the  same  oxygen  gas,  and 
subsequently  in  each  vessel,  in  lieu  of  the  diamond  and  char- 
coal, carbonic  acid  is  found,  from  which,  by  potassium,  car- 
bon may  be  liberated,  who  would  hesitate  to  admit  both  sub- 
stances to  consist  of  carbon,  because  this  element  cannot  be 
recovered  in  its  crystalline  form  from  the  gaseous  state?  " 

And,  in  adverting  to  formulae  which  then  probably  were 
much  discussed,  Hare  said: 

"As  with  very  few  exceptions  in  formulae  expressing  the 
composition  of  organic  substances,  only  four  different  letters 
are  requisite,  with  the  figures  showing  the  relative  propor- 
tions, the  employment  of  symbols  for  that  purpose  is  evi- 
dently highly  advantageous.  The  student,  therefore,  is  ad- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  349 

vised  especially  to  overcome,  by  a  proper  degree  of  resolu- 
tion, any  repugnance  to  the  study  of  the  formulae  given,  or 
others  which  may  be  resorted  to  in  this  or  in  other  modern 
treatises  of  chemistry.  A  comparison  of  their  formulae,  re- 
spectively, will  convey  an  idea  of  the  difference  in  composition 
existing  between  the  radicals  in  the  preceding  list.  .  .  ." 

And  he  continues:  "  I  adverted  to  the  fact  that  certain 
elements  may  be  substituted,  the  one  for  the  other,  without 
changing  the  crystalline  form.  Dumas  has  latterly  held 
an  analogous  doctrine  respecting  the  substitution,  in  organic 
products,  of  one  element  for  another,  or  of  a  compound 
radical  for  an  element,  without  "altering  the  general  chem- 
ical type"  as  he  calls  it;  and  would  have  the  bodies  thus 
formed  grouped  together,  constituting  a  natural  family. 

Hare's  comments  on  radicals  are  original  and  charac- 
teristic. 

Liebig  alleged,  that  "  reciprocal  substitution  of  simple  or 
compound  bodies,  acting  in  the  manner  of  isomorphous 
bodies,  should  be  considered  as  a  true  law  of  nature."  To 
this  Hare  replied:  '  This  substitution  may  take  place  be- 
tween bodies  which  have  neither  the  same  form,  nor  any 
analogy  in  composition.  It  depends  exclusively  on  the  chem- 
ical force,  which  we  call  affinity." 

In  consonance  with  the  law  in  question,  Dumas  has  found, 
that  in  acetic  acid  chlorine  may  be  substituted  for  hydrogen, 
and  that  in  this  way  a  new  acid,  designated  as  chloroacetic, 
may  be  produced. 

This  choloroacetic  acid  is  by  him  alleged  to  be,  in  its  prop- 
erties, so  analogous  to  acetic  acid,  that  to  know  the  habitudes 
of  the  one,  conveys  an  idea  of  those  of  the  other.  This 
analogy  he  conceives  to  arise  from  a  chemical  law,  agreeably 
to  which  the  properties  of  a  compound  depend  rather  on  the 
type  of  the  composition,  than  on  the  particular  character  of 
the  elements  which  may  have  been  exchanged. 


350  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

Of  saponification  he  says:  "Anterior  to  the  labours  of 
Chevreul,  an  erroneous  notion  existed  that  the  process  of 
saponification  consisted  in  nothing  more  than  a  union  between 
the  alkali  and  oil;  so  that  it  was  deemed  to  be  a  case  simply 
of  combination.  The  existence  in  every  oil  of  an  electro- 
negative, and  an  electro-positive  ingredient,  the  one  perform- 
ing the  part  of  a  base,  the  other  of  an  acid,  was  not  imagined." 

And  of  sugar  he  wrote : 

"As  sugar  has  been  found  to  be  very  susceptible  of  yield- 
ing alcohol  by  fermentation,  this  property  has  been  made  the 
basis  of  defining  the  meaning  of  the  word,  so  that  every  sub- 
stance capable  of  the  process  alluded  to,  is  to  be  considered  as 
sugar,  whatever  may  be  its  taste,  or  however  it  may  differ  in  its 
properties  from  the  substance  usually  called  by  the  name. 

Thus  the  fermentable  *  wort '  of  distillers  or  brewers,  the 
uncrystallizable  juices  of  fruits,  a  substance  found  in  mush- 
rooms or  ergot,  also  an  insipid  matter  found  by  Thenard  in 
diabetic  urine,  are  all  to  be  considered  as  consisting  of  sugar, 
so  far  as  they  are  capable  of  yielding  alcohol  by  fermentation." 

And  then  he  proceeds: 

"  I  am  reluctant  to  employ  words  in  a  sense  different  from 
that  in  which  they  are  generally  understood.  Agreeably  to 
usual  acceptation,  sweetness  is  an  indispensable  attribute  of 
sugar.  Sugary  and  sweet  are  synonymous.  "As  sweet  as 
sugar  "  has  long  been  an  expression  conveying  the  idea  of 
superlative  sweetness. 

But  chemists  have  erred,  I  think,  in  assuming  that  noth- 
ing besides  sugar  is  susceptible  of  the  vinous  fermentation. 
The  conversion  into  alcohol  of  the  insipid  product  of  diabetes, 
which  has  been  treated  as  sugar,  because  proved  to  be  sus- 
ceptible of  the  process  in  question,  might  with  more  pro- 
priety, as  I  conceive,  be  deemed  to  demonstrate  that  this 
process  may  be  undergone  by  substances  which  are  not  suffi- 
ciently of  a  saccharine  nature  to  merit  the  name  of  sugar. . .  . 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  351 

It  is  well  known  to  those  who  are  acquainted  with  the 
manufacture  of  whiskey  from  grain,  that  a  portion  of  malt 
is  necessary  to  render  the  wash  or  wort  susceptible  of  the 
vinous  fermentation;  and  that  the  product  is  much  affected 
by  the  circumstances  under  which  the  infusion  of  the  grain 
is  accomplished.  Nearly  thirty  years  ago,  my  late  friend, 
Col.  Anderson,  who  had  distinguished  himself  by  his  ingenuity 
and  sagacity  in  improving  the  processes  and  apparatus  of 
our  American  distilleries,  expressed  to  me  an  opinion,  that 
the  mixture  of  farina  and  water  became  sweeter  towards  the 
close  of  the  process  of  infusion,  and  that  he  believed  a  chem- 
ical change  was  induced,  by  which  more  or  less  sugar  was 
generated.  The  inference  of  our  ingenious  countryman  has 
been  fully  justified  by  the  researches  of  Payen  and  Persoz, 
whence  it  appears  that,  by  digestion  with  malt,  fecula  is  at 
first  partially  changed  into  a  sweetish  gummy  matter,  called 
dextrine,  and  that  this  matter  is  afterwards  converted  into 
grape  sugar.  Dextrine  has  received  its  name  from  a  peculiar 
influence  which  it  exercises  upon  the  plane  of  polarization, 
during  the  passage  of  light.  It  may  be  considered  as  hold- 
ing, as  respects  its  properties,  an  intermediate  position  be- 
tween fecula  and  grape  sugar." 

In  commenting  on  malic  acid  Hare  adds : 

"  Professor  Wm.  Rogers,  of  the  University  of  Virginia, 
has  ascertained  that  this  acid  abounds  in  different  species  of 
sumach,  in  the  state  of  bimalate  of  lime.  Malic  acid  is  bibasic, 
its  formula  being  C5H4O8  +  2HO. 

Malic  and  citric  acids  afford  very  good  examples  of  the 
operation  of  a  law,  to  which  a  great  many  of  the  vegetable 
acids  are  subjected.  At  a  temperature  a  little  above  that  at 
which  they  melt,  they  severally  yield  new  acids.  That  yielded 
by  citric  acid,  is  identical  with  the  acid  found  in  the  aconitum 
napellus,  and  also  the  various  species  of  equisitum.  Hence, 
it  has  received  the  name  of  aconitic  or  equisitic  acid.  Whether 


352  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

obtained  from  citric  acid  by  heat,  or  from  either  of  its  other 
sources,  it  exists  in  the  form  of  white  crystals,  soluble  in 
water,  and  sour  in  taste.  The  acid  into  which  malic  acid  is 
changed,  under  similar  circumstances,  is  also  found  in  nature 
in  Iceland  moss,  and  in  the  fumaria  officinalis.  Hence  it  has 
been  called  f  umaric  acid,  although  Pelouze,  who  first  obtained 
it  from  malic  acid  by  heat,  called  it  parmalic  acid.  Both  of 
these  acids  differ  from  the  citric  and  malic  acid,  from  which 
they  are  produced,  only  in  having  lost  the  elements  of  two 
atoms  of  water. 

When  either  of  the  acids  thus  obtained,  by  heating  citric 
or  malic  acid,  is  exposed  to  a  higher  temperature,  a  further 
change  takes  place,  and  volatile  acids  are  formed,  fumaric 
acid  yielding  maleic,  and  aconitic  producing  itaconic  acid. 
The  former  would  seem  to  be  formed  by  a  mere  transposition 
of  the  elements  of  water  present,  which  appear  as  two  atoms 
of  water  of  crystallization,  instead  of  entering  as  before  as 
two  basic  atoms  into  the  integral  composition  of  the  acid.  A 
further  application  of  heat  converts  itaconic  into  citraconic 
acid ;  while  maleic  acid,  if  kept  in  a  state  of  fusion  for  a  length 
of  time,  reverts  to  the  condition  of  fumaric  acid. 

It  must  be  observed,  that  if  citric  or  malic  acid  be  heated, 
without  keeping  them  at  the  temperatures  necessary  for  the 
formation  of  the  acid  compounds  which  they  respectively 
produce,  the  result  will  be  a  mixture  in  the  one  case  of  fumaric 
acid  and  maleic  acid,  in  the  other,  of  aconitic,  itaconic  and 
citraconic  acids." 

And  in  this  manner  he  goes  forward  in  the  careful  presen- 
tation of  his  subject,  injecting  as  he  has  opportunity,  results 
won  in  his  own  laboratory.  For  example,  in  speaking  of 
perchloric  ether,  he  remarks : 

"  This  ether  was  discovered,  in  my  laboratory,  by  Mr. 
Martin  Boye  and  Mr.  Clark  Hare. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  353 

It  was  obtained  by  subjecting  about  ninety  grains  of 
crystallized  sulphovinate  of  baryta,  with  an  equivalent  pro- 
portion of  perchlorate  of  baryta,  to  the  distillatory  process, 
receiving  the  product  in  from  one  to  two  drachms  of  abso- 
lute alcohol.  By  complex  affinity,  the  sulphuric  acid  of  the 
sulphovinate  dispossesses  the  perchloric  acid  of  the  baryta, 
while,  at  the  same  time,  the  last  mentioned  acid  combines 
with  the  oxide  of  ethyl. 

The  perchlorate  of  ethyl  is  a  transparent,  colourless 
liquid,  possessing  a  peculiar,  though  agreeable  smell,  a  very 
sweet  taste,  which  on  subsiding,  leaves  a  biting  impression 
on  the  tongue,  resembling  that  of  the  oil  of  cinnamon,  but 
more  acrid  and  enduring.  It  is  heavier  than  water,  through 
which  it  rapidly  sinks.  It  explodes  by  ignition,  friction,  or 
percussion,  and  sometimes  without  any  assignable  cause.  Its 
explosive  properties  may  be  safely  shown,  by  pouring  a  small 
portion  of  the  alcoholic  solution  into  a  small  porcelain  cap- 
sule, and  adding  an  equal  volume  of  water.  The  ether  will  col- 
lect in  a  drop  at  the  bottom,  and  may  be  subsequently  sepa- 
rated by  pouring  off  the  greater  part  of  the  water,  and  throw- 
ing the  rest  on  a  moistened  filter,  supported  by  a  wire.  After 
the  water  has  drained  off,  the  drop  of  ether  remaining  at  the 
bottom  of  the  filter  may  be  exploded  either  by  approaching  it 
to  an  ignited  body,  or  by  the  blow  of  a  hammer.  The  violence 
and  readiness  with  which  this  ether  explodes  is  not  surpassed 
by  that  of  any  other  known  compound.  By  the  smallest  drop, 
an  open  porcelain  plate  may  be  reduced  into  fragments,  and 
by  a  larger  quantity,  to  powder.  In  consequence  of  the  force 
with  which  it  projects  the  minute  fragments  of  any  contain- 
ing vessel  in  which  it  explodes,  it  is  necessary  that  the  oper- 
ator should  wear  gloves,  and  a  close  mask,  furnished  with  thick 
glass-plates  at  the  apertures  for  the  eyes,  and  perform  his  ma- 
nipulations with  the  intervention  of  a  movable  wooden  screen. 

In  common  with  other  ethers,  the  perchlorate  of  ethyl 

28 


354  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

is  insoluble  in  water,  but  soluble  in  alcohol ;  and  its  solution  in 
the  latter,  when  sufficiently  dilute,  burns  entirely  away  with 
explosion.  It  may  be  kept  for  a  length  of  time  unchanged, 
even  when  in  contact  with  water;  but  the  addition  of  this 
fluid,  when  employed  to  precipitate  it  from  its  alcoholic  solu- 
tion, causes  it  partially  to  be  decomposed.  Potassa,  dis- 
solved in  alcohol,  and  added  to  the  alcoholic  solution,  pro- 
duces immediately,  an  abundant  precipitate  of  the  perchlorate 
of  that  base,  and,  when  added  in  sufficient  quantity,  decom- 
poses the  ether  entirely. 

The  perchlorate  of  ethyl  has  been  subjected  to  the  heat  of 
boiling  water  without  explosion  or  ebullition. 

It  may  be  observed  that  this  is  the  first  ether  formed  by 
the  combination  of  an  inorganic  acid  containing  more  than 
three  atoms  of  oxygen  with  the  oxide  of  ethule,  and  that  the 
chlorine  and  oxygen  in  the  whole  compound  are  just  suffi- 
cient to  form  chlorohydric  acid,  water  and  carbonic  oxide  with 
the  hydrogen  and  carbon.  It  is  also  the  only  ether  which  is 
explosive  per  se." 

Ethers  and  aldehydes  are  quite  fully  treated  by  Hare  in 
accordance  with  the  prevailing  views.  And,  after  presenting 
the  following  statement  from  Liebig  to  the  effect  that:  "  The 
reaction  which  nitric  acid  exercises  with  the  hydrated  oxide 
of  methyl,»is  not  like  that  which  it  exercises  with  alcohol,  since, 
while  this  liquid  is  decomposed  with  great  difficulty,  giving 
birth  to  certain  oxidized  products  and  hyponitrite  of  the 
oxyde  of  ethyl,  the  hydrated  oxide  of  methyl  is  not  altered 
by  nitric  acid,  unless  at  a  boiling  heat.  When  a  great  excess 
of  this  acid  is  employed,  formic  and  oxalic  acids  are  generated, 
but  no  hyponitrite  ("nitrite")  or  nitrate  of  the  oxide  of 
methyl.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  the  hyponitrite  of 
the  oxide  of  methyl  does  not  exist.  .  .  ." 

He  said :  "  I  found  however  that  by  subjecting  pure  wood 
spirit  to  the  process  already  described  for  producing  the  hypo- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  355 

nitrite  of  ethyl,  a  congenerous  ethereal  product  was  obtained 
(p.  308).  Hyponitrite  of  methyl  has  a  great  resemblance 
to  its  congener  above  named,  in  colour,  smell,  and  taste; 
though  there  is  still  a  diversity  sufficient  to  enable  a  careful 
observer  to  distinguish  one  from  the  other. 

When  the  process  in  which  hyponitrous  ether  is  generated, 
by  introducing  the  refrigerated  materials  into  a  bottle  sur- 
rounded by  ice  and  water,  was  resorted  to,  substituting  wood 
spirit  for  alcohol,  it  was  found  that  the  ether  did  not  separate 
from  the  spirit  as  completely  as  in  the  process  in  which  alco- 
hol was  the  material.  This  I  ascribe  to  the  affinity  between 
water  and  wood  spirit  being  inferior  to  that  between  this 
mentioned  liquid  and  alcohol.  The  boiling  point  of  both 
of  the  ethers  seemed  to  be  nearly  the  same,  and  in  both,  in 
consequence  of  the  escape  of  an  ethereal  gas,  an  effervescence 
resembling  that  of  ebullition,  was  observed  to  take  place  at 
a  lower  temperature  than  that  at  which  the  boiling  point 
became  stationary. 

From  the  language  of  Liebig  above  quoted,  I  infer  that 
previous  efforts  to  produce  the  methylic  hyponitrous  ether 
had  failed.  The  failure  of  others,  and  my  success,  cannot 
excite  surprise,  when  the  difference  of  the  habitudes  of  wood 
spirit  and  alcohol,  with  nitric  acid  and  alcohol,  are  taken  into 
view,  and  the  difference  between  my  process  and  those  fol- 
lowed in  Europe,  by  which  more  or  less  nitric  acid  is  brought 
into  contact  with  the  spirit  employed.  When  alcohol  is  pre- 
sented to  nitric  acid,  a  reciprocal  decomposition  ensues.  The 
acid  loses  two  atoms  of  oxygen,  which,  by  taking  two  atoms 
of  hydrogen  from  a  portion  of  the  alcohol,  transforms  it  into 
aldehyde,  while  the  hyponitrous  acid  resulting  inevitably  from 
the  partial  deoxidizement  of  the  nitric  acid,  unites  with  the 
base  of  the  remaining  part  of  the  alcohol.  But  when  py- 
roxylic  spirit  is  presented  to  nitric  acid,  this  acid,  without 
decomposition,  combines  with  methyl,  the  base  of  this  hy- 


356  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

drate;  hence,  as  no  hyponitrous  acid  is  evolved,  no  hypo- 
nitrite  can  be  produced.  Thus  in  the  case  of  the  one  there  can 
be  no  ethereal  hyponitrite,  in  that  of  the  other  no  ethereal 
nitrate." 

In  regard  to  respiration,  Hare  said: 

"  I  subjoin  an  article  which  I  had  prepared  on  respira- 
tion, as  it  contains  some  ideas  which  are  not  found  elsewhere, 
and  some  objections  to  Liebig's  explanation  of  the  phenom- 
ena of  that  process. 

Chemistry  demonstrates,  that  during  this  process,  the 
volume  of  the  air  respired  by  animals  is  diminished,  but  that  a 
portion  of  the  oxygen  is  replaced  by  an  equal  bulk  of  carbonic 
acid.  Although,  at  one  time,  by  respectable  observers,  the  vol- 
ume of  this  last  mentioned  gas  was  alleged  not  to  be  uniformly 
equal  to  that  of  the  absorbed  oxygen,  the  ratio  of  the  one  to 
the  other  being  represented  as  varying  with  the  time  of  day 
and  the  season,  not  only  in  different  animals,  but  also  in  the 
same  animal,  later  observation  seems  to  have  produced  a  gen- 
eral opinion,  which  is  zealously  espoused  by  the  distinguished 
chemist  above  mentioned,  that  the  expired  carbonic  acid  is, 
upon  the  whole,  exactly  equivalent  to  the  oxygen  consumed. 

The  prevalence  of  nitrogen,  in  animal  substances,  nat- 
urally led  to  the  idea  that  it  might  be  assimilated  more  or 
less  during  respiration ;  but  experience  has  led  to  an  opposite 
opinion;  and  Liebig  has  endeavoured  to  show,  that  in  the 
nutriment  of  granivorous  animals,  there  is  no  deficiency  of 
vegeto-animal  matter  having  as  large  a  proportion  of  nitro- 
gen as  flesh  and  blood. 

When  first,  by  the  Lavoisierian  school,  the  heat  of  all 
ordinary  fires  was  shown  to  be  attributable  to  the  union  of 
oxygen  with  the  combustible  employed,  the  idea  naturally 
followed,  that  respiration  being  attended  by  a  like  union  of 
oxygen  with  combustible  matter,  animal  heat  ought  to  be 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  357 

ascribed  to  this  source.  Many  objections  to  this  explana- 
tion of  the  origin  of  animal  heat  were  subsequently  urged, 
and,  among  others,  the  fact  that  the  heat  of  the  lungs,  the  fire 
place,  is  no  higher  than  remoter  parts  of  the  animal  frame. 

To  remove  this  objection,  Crawford  suggested  that  the 
capacity  for  heat,  of  arterial  blood,  being  greater  than  that 
of  venous  blood,  caloric  was  taken  up  by  the  blood  in  one 
state,  to  be  evolved  when  in  the  other.  This  suggestion  re- 
specting the  relative  capacities  for  heat,  of  arterial  and  venous 
blood,  has  not  been  supported  by  subsequent  experience; 
and  another  view  of  the  subject  has  been  taken,  which  renders 
it  quite  consistent  that  the  temperature  should  not  be  pecu- 
liarly high  in  the  lungs. 

It  is  supposed  that  the  blood  merely  absorbs  oxygen  in 
the  lungs,  but  that  this  oxygen  is  carbonized  during  its  circu- 
lation, and  thus  causes  heat  to  be  given  out  in  all  parts  of 
the  system.  The  carbonic  acid  thus  produced,  on  reaching 
the  lungs  in  combination  with  the  venous  blood,  is  exchanged 
for  oxygen,  and  consequently  expired  with  the  breath. 

Liebig  conceives  that  the  iron  in  the  hematosin  of  the 
red  globules  is  held  by  the  arterial  blood,  in  the  state  of  hy- 
drated  sesquioxide;  but  in  the  capillaries,  the  sesquioxide 
passing  to  the  state  of  protoxide,  by  yielding  oxygen  to  the 
carbon  in  the  blood,  combines  with  the  carbonic  acid  thus  pro- 
duced, and  gives  rise,  in  the  venous  blood,  to  a  carbonated 
protoxide. 

When  the  venous  blood  reaches  the  lungs,  the  protoxide 
exchanging  carbonic  acid  for  oxygen,  this  gas  is  expelled 
with  the  breath,  while  the  regenerated  sesquioxide  is  again, 
by  union  with  water,  reconverted  into  a  hydrate.  The  well 
known  change  of  hue  which  follows  the  transfer  of  the  blood 
from  the  veins  to  the  arteries,  through  the  pulmonary  organs, 
seems  to  be  considered  as  a  collateral  consequence  of  these 
chemical  reactions.  Yet  this  change  does  not  appear  to  me 


358  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

sufficiently  accounted  for,  since  no  such  alteration  of  colour 
can  be  produced  by  the  transformation  of  a  carbonated  pro- 
toxide of  iron  to  a  hydrated  sesquioxide.  Moreover,  the  fact 
that  no  peculiar  elevation  of  temperature  takes  place  on  the 
surfaces  where  the  venous  blood  meets  the  breath,  seems  to 
me  inconsistent  with  Liebig's  explanation,  since  the  heat  must 
be  extricated  in  the  space  where  the  iron  is  peroxidized. 

Upon  the  whole  I  now  think  as  I  have  for  forty  years, 
whatever  other  opinions  may  have  prevailed,  that  there  must 
be  a  degree  of  heat  derived  from  respiration  proportional 
to  the  quantity  of  oxygen  converted  into  carbonic  acid;  but 
with  all  due  deference  for  Liebig,  I  do  not  agree  with  him, 
that  it  is  possible  to  give  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  this 
process  upon  purely  chemical  affinities,  such  as  exist  inde- 
pendently of  vital  power.  It  appears  to  me  that  nature  has 
the  power,  within  certain  limits,  of  making  chemical  affinities 
to  suit  her  own  purposes,  and  can  therefore  cause  the  oxygen 
to  be  absorbed,  the  carbon  to  combine  therewith,  and  the 
heat  to  be  given  out  when  and  where  the  processes  of  vitality 
require  it.  If  nature  have  not  the  alleged  power,  how  does 
it  happen  that,  out  of  the  heterogeneous  congeries  of  ele- 
ments existing  in  the  egg,  the  bill,  the  claws,  the  feathers, 
the  bones,  the  blood,  and  flesh,  are  made  to  appear  at  the 
various  stations,  at  which  their  presence  is  requisite,  for  the 
existence  of  a  young  bird? 

Liebig  cites  the  following  interesting  facts:  An  active 
man  expires  13.9  ounces  of  carbon,  and  daily  consumes,  in 
the  same  time,  37  ounces  of  oxygen  =  511648  cubic  inches, 
or  about  223  gallons.  Reckoning  18  inspirations  per  minute, 
there  must  be  25,920  consumed  per  day,  and  consequently 
511648/25920  =  1.99  or  nearly  two  cubic  inches  of  oxygen 
in  each  respiration.  In  one  minute,  therefore,  there  are 
added  to  the  blood  1.99  times  18  =  35.8  cubic  inches  of  oxy- 
gen, weighing  rather  less  than  twelve  grains. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  359 

In  one  minute,  ten  pounds  of  blood  pass  through  the 
lungs,  measuring  320  cubic  inches,  among  which  35.8  being 
divided,  there  must  be  one  cubic  inch  of  oxygen  for  nine  of 
blood  nearly. 

Ten  Hessian  pounds  of  blood  =  76,800  grains,  if  in  the 
arterial  state,  contain  61  54/100  grains  sesquioxide  of  iron; 
if  in  the  venous  state,  55  14/100  protoxide.  6  40/100,  the 
difference,  is  the  quantity  of  oxygen  which  the  iron  of  the 
venous  blood  can  acquire  in  the  lungs,  which  deducted  from 
twelve  grains,  the  whole  quantity  of  oxygen  absorbed,  leaves 
5.60  grains  requiring  some  other  means  of  absorption.  But 
55  14/100  grains  of  protoxide  of  iron  would  take  up  73  cubic 
inches  of  carbonic  acid,  which  is  double  the  volume  that  the 
35  8/100  of  oxygen  can  generate. 

One  glaring  defect  in  this  part  of  the  explanation,  arises 
from  the  admitted  fact,  that  nearly  one-half  of  the  absorption 
of  oxygen  is  unaccounted  for;  5.60  in  twelve  parts." 

It  is  most  interesting  to  note  Hare's  views  on  saccharine 
and  vinous  fermentation,  acetous  fermentation,  viscous  fer- 
mentation, particularly  as  he  gave  much  thought  in  earlier 
years  to  brewing.  He  wrote : 

"  I  am  under  the  impression  that  all  the  four  fermenta- 
tions may  ensue  either  successively,  or,  to  a  certain  degree, 
simultaneously.  Thus,  either  starch  or  lactin  may  be  con- 
verted into  grape  sugar.  This  product  may  be  partially 
changed  into  alcohol,  and  in  part  into  lactic  acid  and  mannite ; 
while  a  portion  of  alcohol  simultaneously  generated,  may 
be  undergoing  acetification. 

Each  fermentation  has  its  appropriate  ferment.  Thus 
diastase  incites  the  saccharine  fermentation,  yeast  the  alco- 
holic, oxidized  diastase,  casein  or  curd,  the  lactic;  while  the 
scum  or  sediment,  called  mother  of  vinegar,  promotes  the 
acetic  fermentation.  It  is  the  object  of  the  vintner,  the 
brewer,  and  distiller,  to  permit  only  the  two  first  fermenta- 


360  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

tions,  the  alcoholic  especially,  to  which  the  saccharine  is  acces- 
sory. This  object  is  secured  by  taking  great  care  to  have 
the  juice  or  wort  simultaneously  subjected  to  a  temperature 
between  60°  and  70°,  and  a  limited  exposure  to  air,  with 
the  addition  of  the  proper  ferment,  where  this  is  necessary ; 
while,  by  great  cleanliness,  the  presence  of  any  matter  capable 
of  inducing  the  acetous  or  lactic  fermentation  is  avoided. 
Much  liquor  is  spoiled  by  the  substitution  of  the  viscous  for 
the  alcoholic  fermentation.  .  .  . 

Boutron  and  Fremy  have  made  some  interesting  observa- 
tions respecting  the  generation  of  lactic  acid  in  milk.  Ox- 
idized caseine  is  considered  by  them  as  pre-eminent  in  efficacy 
as  a  ferment,  for  the  lactic  fermentation,  by  acting  on  the 
sugar  of  milk  or  lactin ;  but  in  consequence  of  an  affinity  for 
the  generated  acid,  the  oxidized  caseine  forms  with  it  an  inert 
compound  which  precipitates. 

The  generation  of  lactic  acid  requires  the  presence  both 
of  lactin  and  free  oxidized  caseine.  Of  course,  in  order  to 
increase  the  production  of  the  acid,  it  was  found  necessary 
to  add  an  additional  quantity  of  lactin  to  milk,  but  to  renew 
the  efficiency  of  caseine,  it  was  found  sufficient  to  saturate  the 
lactic  acid,  as  often  as  the  production  of  this  acid  was  arrested 
by  the  precipitation  of  the  oxidized  caseine. 

Diastase,  after  being  exposed  a  few  days  to  the  air,  be- 
comes capable  of  inducing  the  viscous  or  lactic  fermentation. 
The  membranes  of  the  stomach  of  a  dog  or  calf,  or  the  sub- 
stance of  a  bladder,  by  a  like  exposure,  were  found  capable 
of  inciting  the  fermentation  in  question.  Yet  animal  matters, 
in  appearance  similarly  prepared,  are  productive  of  different 
results,  as  respects  the  proportions  of  mannite,  of  viscous 
matter,  of  lactic  acid,  or  alcohol,  generated.  The  means  by 
which  the  various  ferments,  respectively,  produce  their 
appropriate  changes  are  involved  in  the  greatest  obscurity. 
The  ferments  have  all  been  shown  to  be  vegeto-animal  matter 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  361 

in  a  state  of  oxidizement,  and  an  analogy  seems  to  have  been 
established  between  their  influence  and  that  of  some  other 
agents,  which  have  been  considered  as  acting  by  what  has 
been  called  catalysis,  which  is  a  new  name  given  by  Berzelius 
to  an  old  mystery.  It  has  long  been  known  that  there  are 
two  modes  by  which  chemical  changes  are  to  be  excited.  In 
one  of  these,  the  presentation  of  one  or  two  extraneous  ele- 
ments causes  decomposition  and  recomposition,  by  the  reac- 
tions between  the  elements  so  presented,  and  those  subjected 
to  alteration,  as  in  the  various  cases  of  elective  affinity.  In 
the  other  mode,  substances  undergo  transformations  by  being 
made  to  rearrange  their  constituents  into  one  or  more  new 
combinations,  by  the  presence  of  other  bodies  with  which 
they  do  not  combine,  and  which,  in  some  cases,  undergo  no 
change  themselves.  It  is  to  the  last  mentioned  mode  of  re- 
action that  the  name  above  mentioned  has  been  applied.  Yet, 
under  this  head,  processes  have  been  crudely  associated  which 
have  discordant  features.  Liebig  indiscriminately  gives  a  com- 
mon explanation  to  these  processes,  and  to  those  of  fermenta- 
tion, so  far  as  they  might  be  crudely  referable  to  catalysis. 

The  following  processes  are  associated  by  this  distin- 
guished chemist  under  one  rationale: — the  solubility  acquired 
by  platina  by  being  alloyed  with  silver;  the  catalyzing  in- 
fluence of  platina  sponge  or  platina  black;  the  explosion  of 
fulminating  powders  by  slight  causes;  the  reciprocal  decom- 
position of  bioxide  of  hydrogen  and  oxide  of  silver;  the 
agency  of  nitric  oxide  in  the  generation  of  sulphuric  acid; 
the  action  of  ferments. 

To  me  it  seems  that  there  is  a  great  diversity  in  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  process  thus  alluded  to.  In  the  case  of  the 
platina  alloy  there  is  at  least  an  atom  of  silver  for  each  atom 
of  platina  in  actual  combination  with  this  metal;  and  the 
change  which  the  latter  undergoes  is  precisely  the  same  as 
that  to  which  the  former  is  subjected. 


362  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

In  the  case  of  platina  sponge,  causing  the  formation  of 
water,  or  of  platina  black,  causing  the  acetification  of  alco- 
holic vapour,  the  inducing  agent  undergoes  no  change  it- 
self; it  enters  not  into  chemical  combination  either  with  the 
materials,  or  the  products.  Liebig  ascribed  the  result  in  this 
instance  to  the  alternate  absorption  and  subsequent  evolution 
of  oxygen  by  the  powder;  since,  after  exposure  to  the  gas, 
it  may,  by  exhaustion,  be  made  to  give  up  a  portion.  But 
the  agency  of  this  metallic  mass  cannot  differ,  in  this  case, 
from  that  in  which  it  causes  the  pure  elements  of  water  to 
combine,  and  in  which,  if  absorption  take  place,  it  is  not  con- 
fined to  oxygen  more  than  to  hydrogen.  But  the  fact  estab- 
lished by  Faraday,  that  hydrogen  and  oxygen  may  be  made 
to  unite  by  a  well  cleaned  plate  of  platina,  seems  irrecon- 
cilable with  the  idea  that  absorption  is  the  means  of  its  accom- 
plishment. But  if  absorption  be  not  operative  in  one  case, 
how  can  it  operate  in  the  other? 

In  this,  as  in  all  other  cases,  Liebig  seems  to  overlook  the 
all  important  agency  of  electricity  in  the  phenomena  of  na- 
ture. I  should  infer,  that  the  metal  most  probably  acts  by 
altering  the  electrical  polarity,  and  consequent  association  of 
imponderable  matter.  But  having  assumed,  that  during  the 
dehydrogenation  of  alcohol  by  atmospheric  oxygen  in  the 
presence  of  platina  black,  this  powder  is  alternately  endowed 
with  the  power  to  take  it  from  the  air,  and  to  impart  it  to 
that  of  which  the  attraction  for  oxygen,  under  the  circum- 
stances, is  too  feeble  to  take  it  from  the  same  source,  this 
distinguished  philosopher  proceeds  to  make  the  inference 
that  honey,  mother  of  vinegar,  and  other  substances  promo- 
tive  of  acetification,  act  in  the  same  way  by  absorbing  oxygen 
from  the  air,  and  abandoning  it  to  hydrogen.  But  if  agree- 
ably to  the  view  above  presented,  platina  black  does  not  act 
by  absorption,  no  argument,  founded  on  the  agency  of  that 
substance,  will  justify  the  idea  that  absorption  avails  in  other 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  363 

cases ;  and  it  should  be  recollected,  that  platina  black  is  very 
active  when  perfectly  free  from  moisture,  while  honey,  yeast, 
mother  of  vinegar,  and  other  substances  which  cause  acetifica- 
tion,  have  no  attraction  for  oxygen  in  the  absence  of  water; 
moreover,  that  the  necessity  for  moisture  to  the  preparatory 
oxidizement  of  gluten,  caseine,  diastase,  and  other  organic 
substances,  which  by  exposure  in  a  humid  state  acquire  their 
capacity  to  act  as  ferments,  is  inexplicable.  Water  is  power- 
ful both  as  a  catalyzer  and  as  a  solvent. 

Before  referring  to  the  absorption  of  oxygen  by  honey, 
as  a  ground  of  explanation  founded  on  the  analogy  of 
platina  black,  the  ability  of  water  to  cause  honey  to  absorb 
oxygen  should  be  first  elucidated. 

An  electric  spark  or  any  ignited  body,  a  wire  made  incan- 
descent by  a  galvanic  discharge,  has  an  influence  analogous 
to  platina  sponge,  of  which  the  minutest  particle  is  sufficient 
to  cause  ignition  throughout  an  inflammable  mixture,  how- 
ever large.  There  is,  in  this  respect,  an  analogy  between  the 
explosion  of  inflammable  gaseous  mixtures  and  those  of  gun 
powder,  and  of  other  fulminating  powders,  of  which  some,  as 
it  is  well  known,  detonate  by  percussion  or  friction,  or  any 
cause  adequate  to  derange  the  equilibrium  of  their  particles. 
In  the  case  last  mentioned,  the  change  produced  is  the  same, 
whatever  may  be  the  exciting  cause,  and  the  minutest  portion 
of  the  congeries  being  made  to  undergo  the  change,  is  of  itself 
competent  to  produce  a  like  result  as  respects  the  whole. 

The  property  which  bioxide  of  hydrogen,  and  the  oxide 
of  silver,  or  bioxide  of  lead,  have,  of  undergoing  an  ex- 
plosive deoxidizement  in  consequence  of  mere  superficial  con- 
tact, is  evidently  another  case,  since  the  reaction  is  reciprocal. 
In  the  solution  of  the  alloy  of  platina  with  silver,  one  body 
induces  another  to  undergo  the  oxidizement  to  which  it  is 
itself  subjected.  In  the  case  of  the  bioxide  of  hydrogen,  and 
oxide  of  silver,  two  bodies,  both  prone  to  deoxidizement, 


364  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

reciprocally  induce  that  species  of  change.  But  in  this  phe- 
nomenon there  is  no  third  body  to  perform  a  part  analogous 
to  that  of  the  nitric  acid. 

In  case  of  ferments  there  is  not  only  the  power  to  pro- 
duce a  change,  but  also  to  produce  the  particular  changes  by 
which  sugar,  alcohol,  and  acetic  or  lactic  acid,  and  mannite, 
are  respectively  generated.  Moreover,  these  bodies  are 
themselves  undergoing  an  oxidation  or  decomposition  which 
is  necessary  to  their  power;  but  this  change  is  not  like  that 
which  they  induce.  Hence,  obviously,  they  operate  differ- 
ently, either  from  the  platina  sponge,  or  platina  black,  or 
from  the  silver  in  the  alloy  formed  by  it  with  platina.  Liebig 
conceives,  that  this  increased  solubility  of  platina  by  union 
with  silver,  is  at  war  with  electro-chemical  principles,  agree- 
ably to  which,  any  metal  in  contact  with  another  metal,  rela- 
tively electro-positive,  becomes  less  susceptible  of  attack.  But 
this  is  not  alleged  of  two  metals  in  chemical  combination, 
but  of  masses  in  contact,  or  having  a  metallic  conductor  ex- 
tending from  one  to  the  other.  I  am  surprised  that  Liebig 
should  find  the  mystery  of  catalysis  lessened  by  the  solution 
of  the  alloy  alluded  to,  when  it  must  be  evident  that  if  the 
oxidation  of  one  atom  were  a  sufficient  reason  why  another 
atom  combined  with  it  should  be  oxidized,  an  alloy  of  gold 
with  silver  ought  to  be  soluble.  Whereas,  it  is  known  that 
the  common  process  of  parting  is  founded  on  the  utter  in- 
solubility of  gold  when  so  alloyed. 

Liebig  alleges  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  acidifi- 
cation of  alcohol  is  of  the  same  order  as  the  reaction  by 
which  nitric  oxide  provokes  the  formation  of  sulphuric  acid 
in  the  leaden  chamber,  in  which  process  the  oxygen  of  the  air 
is  transferred  to  sulphurous  acid  by  the  intervention  of  the 
bioxide  of  nitrogen,  since,  in  like  manner  organic  substances 
associated  with  spirit  of  wine  absorb  oxygen,  and  bring  it 
into  a  particular  state  which  renders  it  liable  to  be  absorbed. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  365 

But  in  the  case  thus  cited,  for  every  equivalent  of  acid 
formed,  an  equivalent  of  the  bioxide  combines  first  with  an 
equivalent  of  oxygen,  and  in  the  next  place  with  an  equiva- 
lent of  the  sulphurous  acid,  forming  a  compound  which  is 
decomposed  by  water  into  sulphuric  acid  and  the  regenerated 
bioxide.  There  appears  to  me  to  be  no  analogy  between 
this  process  and  that  of  the  influence  of  matter  existing  in  no 
equivalent  proportion,  and  which  cannot  be  shown  to  form 
a  definite  chemical  compound,  either  with  acetyl  or  hydrogen. 
It  is  not  represented  that,  in  the  vinous  fermentation,  any 
union,  either  transient  or  permanent,  takes  place  between 
the  elements  of  the  sugar  and  those  of  the  ferment;  oil  the 
contrary  it  is  alleged,  that  the  oxidation  and  precipitation  of 
the  yeast  proceeds  pari  passu,  with  the  alcoholification. 

As  to  all  the  processes  referred  to  for  illustration,  as  well 
as  those  of  fermentation,  which  they  are  alleged  to  resemble, 
it  appears  to  me  that  Liebig  and  his  disciples  have  been  too 
sanguine  of  their  capacity  to  give  adequate  elucidation. 

Respecting  changes  of  the  kind  above  described  as  cata- 
lytic, Kane  uses  the  following  language : — ff  The  elements 
of  a  compound  are  retained  together  in  certain  molecular 
arrangement,  because  the  affinities  are  there  satisfied;  but  it 
is  natural  to  suppose  that  whilst  the  elements  remain  the  same, 
their  affinities  for  each  other  might  be  just  as  completely 
satisfied  by  a  different  molecular  arrangement."  This  lan- 
guage might  be  held  more  reasonably,  were  this  variation  in 
arrangement  accompanied  by  no  concomitant  acquisition  of 
chemical  properties;  but  is  it  reasonable  to  consider  the  dif- 
ference between  sugar,  and  the  alcohol  and  carbonic  acid  into 
which  it  is  resolvable,  as  arising  merely  from  molecular 
arrangement?  Can  the  active  influence  of  alcohol  upon  the 
animal  nerves  be  due  merely  to  the  situations  respectively  oc- 
cupied by  its  three  ultimate  ponderable  elements,  carbon, 
hydrogen,  and  oxygen,  of  which  it  consists?  Admitting  that 


366  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

the  union  of  oxygen  with  the  ingredients  of  gluten  could,  by 
imparting  any  consequent  mechanical  impulses,  cause  the 
hydrogen  and  oxygen  of  an  atom  of  water  to  unite  with  the 
elements  of  sugar,  and  to  separate  into  alcohol  and  carbonic 
acid  as  above  mentioned,  how  can  that  movement,  or  the 
consequent  rearrangement  of  the  ponderable  particles,  ex- 
plain the  acquisition  of  new  properties,  of  which  the  com- 
bining atoms,  or  the  compounds  previously  containing  them, 
were  destitute?  That  the  presence  of  yeast  induces  the  fer- 
mentation of  alcohol,  and  that  diastase  determines  the  gen- 
eration of  sugar,  is  admitted;  but  I  am  surprised  that  any 
philosopher  should  conceive,  that  without  first  ascertaining 
upon  what  the  difference  of  the  properties  of  alcohol  and 
sugar  is  dependent,  we  can  understand  how  that  difference 
is  caused.  Liebig  infers  that  a  body  in  the  act  of  decomposi- 
tion, or  combination,  may  communicate  a  movement  to  the 
atoms  of  an  adjoining  compound,  so  that  gluten  in  the  state 
of  oxidation,  in  which  it  is  called  yeast,  induces  sugar, 
Ci2HiiOn,  existing  in  the  same  liquid,  to  unite  with  the 
elements  of  water,  making  Ci2Hi2Oi2,  separating  into  four 
equivalents  of  carbonic  acid  and  two  of  alcohol. 

Adopting  the  same  views  as  Liebig,  Kane  alleges,  "  that 
the  slow  decomposition  of  diastase  communicates  to  the  mole- 
cules of  many  thousand  times  its  weight  of  starch,  the  degree 
of  motion  necessary  for  their  rearrangement,  and  the  appro- 
priation of  the  elements  of  water  requisite  for  the  formation 
of  starch  sugar." 

It  is  perfectly  evident,  that  the  particles  of  the  catalyzed 
substance  are  in  some  way  so  affected  by  the  catalyzing  body 
as  to  be  put  into  a  state  of  reaction,  which  had  not  otherwise 
ensued;  but  that  this  is  accomplished  merely  by  imparted 
motion  appears  to  me  to  be  a  surmise  destitute  of  plausibility. 
The  fact  that  the  weight  of  the  diastase  requisite  to  saccharify 
starch  is  so  very  small,  as  is  alleged  by  Kane,  evidently  renders 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  367 

it  extremely  improbable  that  it  acts  by  creating  any  mechan- 
ical disturbance.  Yet  this  respectable  chemist  is  so  completely 
carried  away  by  his  idea,  that  he  proceeds  to  make  the  following 
remark : 

"  This  law,  of  which  the  simplest  expression  is  that  where 
two  chemical  substances  are  in  contact,  any  motion  occurring 
among  the  particles  of  the  one  may  be  communicated  to  the 
other,  is  of  a  more  purely  mechanical  nature  than  any  other 
principle  yet  received  in  chemistry,;  and  when  more  definitely 
established  by  succeeding  researches,  may  be  the  basis  of  a 
dynamic  theory  in  chemistry,  as  the  law  of  equivalents  and 
multiple  combination  expresses  the  statical  condition  of  bodies 
which  unite  by  chemical  force" 

I  perfectly  agree  in  opinion  with  the  author  of  these  sug- 
gestions, as  to  the  purity  of  the  mechanical  attributes  of  the 
principle  on  which  they  are  founded,  but  cannot  on  this  very 
account  deem  them  competent  to  explain  the  phenomena  on 
which  he  conceives  them  to  bear. 

As  the  mechanical  influence  of  the  motion  of  bodies  is  as 
the  weight  multiplied  by  the  velocity,  is  it  conceivable  that 
any  movement  in  the  particles  of  one  part,  by  weight,  of 
diastase,  can  be  productive  of  analogous  movements  in  two 
thousand  parts  of  starch? 

The  idea  that  yeast  might  owe  its  power  to  animalcules, 
suggested  itself  to  me  more  than  thirty  years  ago,  and  seems 
to  have  some  support  from  the  fact,  that  fermentation  only 
thrives  within  the  range  of  temperature  compatible  with 
animal  life.  Latterly,  its  activity  has  been  ascribed  to  the 
power  of  extremely  minute  vegetables.  Kane,  while  ad- 
mitting the  existence  in  yeast  of  a  vast  number  of  globular 
bodies,  possibly  animalcules,  treats  the  idea  as  untenable, 
because  the  weight  of  the  alcohol  and  carbonic  acid  is  greater 
than  that  of  the  sugar  employed.  But  if  the  union  of  water 
with  the  elements  of  the  sugar,  can  add  to  the  weight  of  the 


368  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

products,  without  the  assistance  of  animalcules,  wherefore 
should  their  agency  be  inconsistent  with  an  augmentation 
from  the  same  source?  But  the  weight  of  the  alcohol  and 
carbonic  acid  are  just  equal  to  that  of  the  sugar,  if  this  be 
assumed  to  be  in  the  state  of  sugar  of  grapes. 

Independently  of  any  agency  of  this  kind,  which  seems 
even  more  probable  in  the  case  of  some  species  of  infection, 
than  in  that  of  fermentation,  I  conceive  that  the  present  state 
of  our  knowledge  does  not  allow  of  our  comprehending  the 
means  by  which  bodies,  whether  organic  or  inorganic,  are 
endowed  with  the  powers  ascribed  to  catalysis;  but  that  we 
have  great  reason  to  believe  that  these  powers,  as  well  as  all 
the  properties  which  ultimate  elements  acquire  by  diversity 
of  association,  as  in  compound  radicals,  are  due  to  the  same 
source  as  the  phenomena  of  galvanic  and  statical  electricity. 

It  is  well  known,  that  although  pure  zinc  is  not  susceptible 
of  oxidation  by  exposure  to  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  yet  that, 
when  containing  minute  proportions  of  other  metals,  as  in  the 
case  of  commercial  zinc,  it  becomes  liable  to  rapid  oxidation 
by  the  same  reagent.  This  Faraday  explained  by  the  electro- 
chemical influence  of  the  comparatively  electro-negative 
metallic  particles  distributed  throughout  the  mass  of  the  zinc, 
which  he  conceived  to  be  productive  of  as  many  local  galvanic 
circuits  with  corresponding  currents.  This  explanation  has, 
I  believe,  been  universally  sanctioned,  and  was  consistent  with 
the  previous  discovery  of  Sturgeon,  that  when,  by  amalgamat- 
ing the  surface  with  mercury,  a  metallic  communication  was 
made  between  the  electro-positive  and  electro-negative  metal- 
lic particles,  so  as  to  prevent  the  formation  of  electrolytic  cur- 
rents through  the  oxidizing  liquid,  the  zinc  became  nearly  as 
insusceptible  of  union  with  oxygen,  as  when  in  a  pure  state. 

Nevertheless,  either  when  pure,  or  when  amalgamated, 
the  zinc  was  found  oxidizible  by  diluted  sulphuric  acid,  pro- 
vided it  were  made  the  element  of  a  galvanic  pair. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  369 

The  facts  above  mentioned  having  been  recalled  to  the 
attention  of  the  scientific  reader,  I  beg  leave  to  inquire 
whether  the  influence  thus  ascribed  by  Faraday  to  the  electro- 
negative metallic  particles  has  not  a  greater  analogy  with 
that  of  a  ferment,  than  those  which  have  been  brought  forward 
by  Liebig,  Kane  and  others,  with  a  view  to  explain  the  in- 
fluence of  that  class  of  agents  upon  mechanical  and  chemical 
principles?  Wherefore  may  not  the  distribution  of  nitro- 
genated  substances  throughout  a  mass  of  inorganic  matter, 
operate  as  do  the  metallic  impurities  in  commercial  zinc? 
The  existence  of  a  powerful  voltaic  series  in  the  gymnotus 
and  other  electrical  fishes,  shows  that  the  substances  which 
enter  into  the  composition  of  animal  matter  are,  when  duly 
associated,  as  capable  as  metals  of  forming  the  elements  not 
only  of  simple,  but  of  complex  galvanic  circuits." 

And  thus  the  discussions  proceed  in  ways  indicating  a 
master  mind,  zealous  of  bringing  to  his  hearers,  the  truth 
relative  to  the  objects  of  their  study. 

Indeed,  the  study  of  Hare's  "  Compendium  "  impresses 
one  throughout  with  the  wonderful  originality  of  the  man. 
At  the  time  of  the  appearance  of  the  first  edition  of  this  truly 
monumental  work  there  were  really  no  satisfactory  text- 
books in  use  from  the  hands  of  Americans.  Those  in  vogue 
were  in  the  main  American  editions  of  English  works.  So 
that  in  Hare's  presentation  of  the  science  there  is  displayed 
the  greatest  originality.  No  other  writer  indulged  so  ex- 
tensively in  the  discussion  of  constitution  of  bodies  as  did 
Hare.  His  ideas  are  strictly  his  own.  The  emphasis  laid  by 
him  on  physical  phenomena  is  noteworthy.  In  modern  times 
it  would  be  said  that  Hare  realized  fully  the  importance  which 
physics  bore  to  chemistry.  Were  he  active  to-day  he  would 
undoubtedly  be  classed  in  the  group  of  physical  chemists. 

One  also  wonders  on  reading  the  "  Compendium  "  how 
a  student  body  would  view  the  necessity  of  becoming  familiar 

24 


370  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

with  such  a  mass  of  facts;  especially  would  this  be  true  of 
students  of  medicine,  who  are  not  prone  to  give  any  too  much 
time  to  physics  or  chemistry. 

In  1831  Silliman  presented  to  the  public  his  "  Elements 
of  Chemistry."  On  turning  its  pages  there  is  on  all  sides 
evidence  of  Hare's  influence.  Indeed,  most  of  the  illustra- 
tions are  from  the  "  Compendium."  The  two  friends,  when 
together,  must  have  talked  freely  upon  their  favorite  sub- 
ject and  in  the  main  they  agreed.  Nowhere  in  the  text  of 
Silliman  are  there,  however,  such  frequent  allusions  to  the 
speculative  side  of  the  subject  as  may  be  found  in  the  "  Com- 
pendium." Galvanism  or  electricity  is  given  a  great  deal 
of  space,  but  it  seemingly  is  not  so  highly  regarded  as  by 
Hare.  This  particular  subject  comprises  many  pages  of  the 
"  Compendium." 

A  contemporary  reviewer  wrote: 

"  This  work  was  written  for  the  author's  pupils,  and  is 
made  the  companion  of  his  public  lectures.  It  contains  a 
luminous  and  comprehensive  sketch  of  scientific  chemistry, 
and  one  as  full  as  was  consistent  with  the  limits  which  the 
author  had  prescribed  to  himself,  after  allowing  sufficient 
room  for  a  detailed  account  of  many  varieties  of  chemical 
apparatus  and  experiments,  especially  those  which  have  been 
the  result  of  his  own  invention  and  ingenuity." 

The  "  Compendium  "  was  truly  a  remarkable  produc- 
tion. Students  of  the  present  would  derive  a  wealth  of 
suggestions  from  its  pages.  Was  it  not  Wilhelm  Ostwald 
who  said  he  often  devoted  the  moments  of  lunch  hour  to 
leafing  the  standard  journals  dealing  with  chemistry?  And 
from  them  he  obtained  a  fund  of  knowledge  and  suggestions 
for  research,  truly  astonishing.  So  also  may  it  be  said  of 
the  "  Compendium;"  it  is  highly  suggestive  along  many  lines. 

In  addition  to  this  splendid  piece  of  literary  work,  Hare 
edited  as  early  as  1819,  with  the  assistance  of  Dr.  Franklin 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  371 

Bache,  the  first  edition  of  Ure's  Dictionary  of  Chemistry, 
concerning  which  the  reviewers  of  the  day  said: 

"  It  included  all  the  recent  discoveries,  digested  with  great 
skill,  and  presented  in  a  neat,  concise,  and  perspicuous  style." 

And  in  the  same  year  an  American  Edition  of  Henry's 
Chemistry,  in  two  octavo  volumes,  appeared.  The  work  is 
sparsely  illustrated,  so  that  one  wonders  whether  for  this 
reason,  among  others,  Hare  was  not  induced  to  print  his 
"  Minutes,"  and  later  the  comprehensive  "  Compendium." 
There  is  no  evidence  whatever  in  the  latter  that  its  author 
was  at  all  influenced  by  his  publication  of  the  work  of  Henry, 
which  passed  through  at  least  two  editions  in  this  country. 

In  1840,  Hare  also  published  "A  Brief  Exposition  of 
the  Science  of  Mechanical  Electricity,  or  Electricity  Proper, 
with  Engravings  and  Descriptions  of  the  Apparatus  Em- 
ployed." In  this  volume  his  originality,  in  devising  experi- 
mental proofs  of  his  statements,  is  forcefully  illustrated. 
He  also  edited  a  pamphlet  on  the  "  History  of  Electricity," 
and  another  on  "  The  Origin  and  Progress  of  Galvanism,  or 
Voltaic  Electricity."  He  further  published  an  extended  essay 
"  On  Electro-Magnetism,"  called  by  him  "  a  new  science." 

The  most  important  portions  of  these  memoirs  eventually 
found  their  place  in  the  last  edition  of  the  "  Compendium." 
In  addition  to  all  this  he  published  one  hundred  and  fifty  or 
more  articles  in  the  pages  of  the  American  Journal  of  Science, 
to  which  it  is  only  fair  to  add  his  numerous  verbal  com- 
munications made  so  regularly  at  stated  meetings  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society. 

On  November  7,  1843,  Hare  delivered  a  lecture  intro- 
ductory to  a  course  on  chemistry  which  his  students  requested 
that  they  be  permitted  to  print.  The  request  was  granted. 
The  opening  paragraphs  dealt  chiefly  with  the  wonders  of 
science  in  general ;  indeed,  he  rambled  about  in  a  highly  specu- 
lative region,  finally  abandoning  it  to  consider  to  some  extent 


372  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

the  science  which  he  was  accustomed  to  teach.  It  was  then 
that  he  took  occasion  to  advert  to  the  wonderful  character 
of  the  elements  hydrogen,  oxygen,  carbon  and  nitrogen,  say- 
ing that  "  the  organic  branch  of  chemistry  has  been  so  ex- 
tended and  modified,  both  as  respects  facts  and  hypotheses, 
that  it  now  occupies  as  large  a  space  in  elementary  treatises, 
as  all  the  rest  of  the  science,  including  inorganic  chemistry, 
together  with  the  auxiliary  branches  of  statical,  voltaic  and 
magnetic  electricity."  After  this  he  ventured  to  comment  on 
some  of  "  Liebig's  physiological  speculations."  Granting 
that  the  latter  had  advanced  "  many  ingenious  ideas  Jf  £&  * 
highly  serviceable  to  physiological  chemistry  "  he  had  been 
altogether  "  bold,  hasty,  inconsiderate  and  inaccurate."  He 
remarks:  "  I  would  liken  him  to  a  military  leader,  who,  after 
marching  through  a  country,  with  drums  beating  and  colors 
flying,  should  have  his  trumpets  loudly  sounded,  as  if  a  com- 
plete conquest  had  been  effected,  while  leaving  behind  him 
many  fortresses,  of  which  the  knowledge  had  prevented  more 
cautious  and  considerate  leaders  from  having  previously  un- 
dertaken the  same  expedition.  Nevertheless,  by  these  means 
the  philosopher  of  Giessen  has  excited  a  degree  of  attention, 
in  the  great  mass  of  physicians  and  agriculturists,  which  had 
never  been  gained,  had  he  neither  deluded  himself  nor  the 
readers  of  his  essays  with  the  prospect  of  an  elucidation  of 
the  mysteries  of  animal  and  vegetable  physiology,  which  it  is 
beyond  the  present  state  of  chemistry  to  afford.  Moreover, 
the  popularity  which  he  has  thus  gained,  may  lead  others  to 
follow  in  the  same  path,  who  may  rectify  his  errors  and 
remedy  some  of  his  omissions  without  impairing  what  is 
really  true  in  his  doctrines. 

There  can  be  no  better  exemplification  of  the  errors  to 
which  Liebig  is  addicted,  than  his  adoption  of  the  following 
maxim:  "  There  are  many  ways  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of  a 
mountain,  but  those  only  can  hope  to  reach  it  who  keep  the 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  373 

summit  constantly  in  view."  It  must  be  evident  to  every  per- 
son of  experience,  in  ascending  mountains,  that  although  it 
may  be  necessary  to  keep  the  bearing  of  the  summit  in  mind, 
our  eyes  must  be  upon  the  path ;  and  that,  in  most  cases,  the 
safest  and  easiest  mode  of  access,  causes  the  summit  to  be 
concealed  for  a  time.  A  person  who  should  implicitly  follow 
Liebig' s  advice,  would  probably  fall  over  some  precipice,  or 
tumble  into  some  fissure  which  might  escape  notice  while 
keeping  the  summit  of  the  mountain  constantly  in  view.  Is 
not  the  fallacious  rule  of  action,  above  quoted,  a  good  figura- 
tive illustration  of  a  theorist,  who,  keeping  his  mind  too  much 
upon  some  hypothetical  acme,  overlooks  insurmountable  ob- 
jections which  a  close  attention  to  facts  would  make  evi- 
dent? Has  not  Liebig  exemplified  his  own  course?  .  .  . 

Ordinary  fires  being  supported  by  the  union  of  atmos- 
pheric oxygen  with  the  charcoal  and  the  hydrogen  of  fuel, 
while  the  respiration  of  animals  is  attended  by  a  union  be- 
tween atmospheric  oxygen  and  the  carbon  of  the  blood,  it 
has  long  been  apparent  that  a  large  consumption  of  oxygen 
must  be  thus  necessarily  occurring.  On  the  other  hand,  the  ob- 
servation that  from  the  leaves  of  vegetables,  exposed  in  water 
to  the  solar  rays,  a  copious  emission  of  oxygen  ensued,  and  in 
fact  that  carbon  was  found  largely  to  enter  into  their  com- 
position, led  very  naturally  to  the  inference,  that  animals  in- 
spire oxygen,  and  give  out  carbon  dioxide,  while  vegetables,  re- 
spiring the  gaseous  compound  formed  with  carbon  by  oxygen, 
called  carbonic  acid  gas,  emit  oxygen,  retaining  the  carbon. 

But  some  contradictory  observations  had  caused  this  view 
of  the  subject,  to  be  represented  as  incorrect;  and  the  ques- 
tion has  always  been  undecided.  Liebig  has  with  great 
ability  taken  that  side  of  this  question,11  to  which  I  have 
always  adhered.  He  considers  that  the  carbon  in  vegetables 

11  This  side  of  the  question  has  been  experimentally  supported  by 
Professor  Daubeny,  of  Oxford,  England. 


374  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

is  due  to  the  absorption  of  carbonic  acid,  and  infers  that  it  is 
thus  that  the  enormous  consumption  of  oxygen  by  fires,  and 
animal  respiration  is  compensated.  He  shows  by  calcula- 
tion, that  agreeably  to  analysis,  there  are  three  thousand 
millions  of  millions  of  pounds  of  carbon  in  the  air,  in  the  state 
of  carbonic  acid,  and  infers  that  the  carbon  in  all  the  mineral 
coal  known  bears  but  a  small  proportion  to  that  thus  existing 
in  the  aeriform  state. 

It  is  known  that  inland  plants  yield  by  incineration, 
potash,  the  active  matter  of  common  soap  ley.  Plants  on 
the  borders  of  the  ocean  yield  soda,  an  analogous  substance. 
In  various  species  of  grain,  certain  salts  are  found  to  exist 
always  in  a  certain  ratio.  Now,  however  minute  are  the 
proportions  of  these  substances,  Liebig  correctly  avers,  as  I 
believe,  that  their  absence  incapacitates  a  soil  for  the  success- 
ful cultivation  of  the  kind  of  plant  requiring  them. 

This  distinguished  chemist  concurs  with  the  celebrated 
Davy  in  representing  plants  as  taking  up  all  soluble  mat- 
ters presented  to  their  roots  in  a  sufficiently  diluted  state, 
but  appears  to  be  peculiar  in  the  opinion  that  it  is  only  that 
portion  of  carbon  which  is  in  the  state  of  gaseous  carbonic 
acid  which  forms  their  food. 

According  to  Davy,  Berzelius,  and  others,  vegetable  mat- 
ter, constituting  humus  or  geine,  yields  certain  acids  which,  be- 
ing absorbed,  are  the  means  of  nutrition.  But  both  Davy  and 
Liebig,  the  latter  especially,  consider  that  carbonic  acid  is  im- 
bibed by  the  vegetable  foliage,  the  carbon  being  assimilated 
and  the  oxygen  exhaled.  Of  course  water  is  all  important,  and 
appears  to  be  received  through  the  leaves,  as  well  as  the  roots. 

Lignin,  which  constitutes  the  fibres  of  wood,  hemp,  flax 
and  those  of  plants  in  general;  also  sugars,  gum,  starch  and 
other  analogous  vegetable  products,  consist  merely  of  water 
and  carbon.  Nitrogen  exists  in  plants  in  comparatively 
small  proportion;  yet  its  presence  appears  to  be  of  primary 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  375 

importance,  since  it  has  a  sort  of  ubiquity  in  the  organs  and 
juices.  But  although  this  element  forms  nearly  four-fifths 
of  the  atmosphere,  it  seems  to  be  generally  conceded,  and 
is  by  Liebig  urged,  that  it  is  not  directly  obtained  from  that 
source  by  vegetation.  According  to  this  philosopher,  a 
previous  conversion  into  ammonia,  by  a  union  with  hydrogen, 
is  requisite;  this  alkali,  and  the  carbonic  acid  with  which  it 
unites,  when  exposed  to  the  atmosphere,  being  mainly  the 
food  of  plants.  But  though  nitrogen  pervades  vegetable 
organization,  it  abounds  in  a  larger  proportion  in  that  of 
animals.  Hence,  it  has  been  a  question  how  animals,  feed- 
ing on  vegetables  only,  are  supplied  with  a  sufficiency  of 
nitrogen.  It  naturally  occurred,  in  the  case  of  vegetables, 
that  they  might  derive  it  from  the  atmosphere  during  respira- 
tion. But  experimental  investigation  has  shown  that  there 
is  no  absorption  of  nitrogen,  during  that  process,  tending 
to  justify  this  inference. 

Thus,  in  the  supply  of  nitrogen  to  the  vegetable  and 
animal  creation,  nature,  from  considerations  which  are  in- 
scrutable to  human  reason,  prefers  an  indirect  and  precarious 
source,  to  one  which  is  superabundant  and  always  at  hand. 
Nor  is  this  the  only  instance.  Fishes,  which  swim  in  an 
element  consisting  of  eight  parts  in  nine  of  oxygen,  are  de- 
pendent for  this  principle  on  the  contact  of  their  gills  with 
a  minute  portion  of  air  absorbed  from  the  atmosphere. 

But  Liebig  alleges  that,  as  a  large  portion  of  vegetable 
diet  merely  serves  to  yield  the  carbon  required  for  respira- 
tion, there  is,  in  the  residue,  a  due  proportion  of  nitrogen 
to  form  flesh  and  blood;  since  it  has  been  shown  by  recent 
analyses  that,  in  beans,  wheat,  and  other  grain,  there  are 
substances  capable  of  isolation,  which  are  identical  in  com- 
position with  the  fibrous  matter  of  the  blood  or  fibrin,  and 
with  serum  or  white  of  egg,  called  albumen,  also  with  milk 
curd  or  casein.  Thus  animals  find  readv  formed  in  some 


376  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

parts  of  vegetables,  if  not  in  all,  the  ingredients  of  their  flesh 
and  blood.  But  some  of  the  most  abundant  articles  of  vege- 
table food,  such  as  sugar,  starch,  gum,  fat,  oil,  etc.,  being 
devoid  of  nitrogen,  cannot  alone  contribute  to  the  formation 
of  flesh.  They  go,  says  Liebig,  to  support  the  fire  in  the 
lungs  where  thirteen  ounces  and  a  half  of  carbon  are,  on  an 
average,  daily  consumed  by  a  man ;  causing  as  much  heat  as 
would  raise  three  hundred  and  seventy  pounds  of  water  to 
the  temperature  of  the  blood. 

It  is  alleged  by  the  same  author  that  all  the  oxygen,  thus 
combined  with  carbon,  is  in  the  first  instance  taken  up  by 
the  protoxide  of  iron  in  the  venous  blood,  which,  being  con- 
sequently changed  in  colour,  causes  the  reddening  of  the  blood 
ere  it  passes  into  the  arteries.  To  this  it  has  been  objected 
that  the  quantity  of  iron  in  the  blood  is  inadequate  to  take 
up  a  sufficiency  of  oxygen;  and  it  appears  to  me  that  were 
the  fact  to  be  as  suggested,  the  heat  would  be  evolved  in  the 
lungs  where  the  absorption  of  oxygen  takes  place,  not  in  the 
capillaries  where  it  is  transferred  to  carbon. 

Moreover,  I  am  of  opinion  that,  as  protoxide  of  iron  is  of 
a  more  dingy  red  than  arterial  blood,  it  would  be  incom- 
petent to  colour  this  liquid,  as  alleged,  unless  assisted  by 
some  other  agent,  such,  for  instance,  as  sulpho-cyanhydric 
acid,  which  has  been  heretofore  represented  as  participating 
in  the  result. 

It  would  seem,  on  the  whole,  that  Liebig  has,  in  this 
respect,  contributed  more  to  enforce  than  to  alter  the  opinions 
offered  by  me  on  this  subject  in  the  former  editions  of  my 
text  book.  Yet  I  have  always  thought  that  a  machinery  so 
complicated  as  that  employed  in  the  process  of  respiration, 
could  not  have  been  devised  merely  for  the  generation  of 
animal  heat  or  the  oxidizement  of  carbon  in  the  tissues,  as 
Liebig  seems  to  believe.  It  has  struck  me  that  the  necessity 
of  atmospheric  oxygen  to  fishes  would  hardly  be  ascribed 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  377 

satisfactorily  to  the  ponderable  matter  thus  received  through 
their  gills,  or  on  any  heat  which  it  may  produce.  I  have 
suspected  that  there  was  some  imponderable  fluid,  supplied 
to  the  nervous  system  by  the  process  in  question,  to  which  the 
classes  of  animals,  enjoying  the  benefits  of  it  extensively,  are 
indebted  for  the  superiority  which  they  obviously  possess  over 
animals  which  do  not  enjoy  that  advantage  to  a  similar  extent. 

One  of  the  greatest  services  rendered  by  the  author,  whose 
opinions  are  under  consideration  is,  as  I  think,  in  directing 
attention  to  the  different  offices  performed  by  two  classes  of 
vegetable  products  which  may  be  distinguished  as  nitrogen- 
ized  and  as  devoid  of  nitrogen.  All  the  various  species  of 
sugar,  starch,  gum  or  mucilage,  oil,  fat,  and  gelatine,  are 
represented  as  having  a  tendency  rather  to  go  to  the  support 
of  the  respiratory  process,  or  to  produce  obesity;  while  the 
fibrin  and  albumen  of  flesh  and  blood  are  sustained  by  those 
portions  of  animal  and  vegetable  food  which  contain  nitro- 
gen in  nearly  the  same  proportion  as  it  exists  in  them.  The 
greater  vigour  of  a  horse  when  fed  on  oats  or  maize,  is  in 
this  way  explained,  by  the  greater  proportion  of  matter  con- 
tained in  such  grain,  which  is  of  a  nature  to  compensate  the 
wear  of  the  muscles. 

Highly  worthy  of  consideration,  also,  are  Liebig's  sug- 
gestions respecting  the  services  rendered  by  theine,  a  pecu- 
liarly highly  nitrogenized  principle,  common  both  to  tea  and 
coffee.  Liebig  ingeniously  shows  that  this  principle  requires 
only  an  addition  of  water  and  oxygen  in  order  to  convert 
it  into  taurine,  an  active  principle  of  the  bile.  The  extensive 
use  of  tea  and  coffee  by  civilized  nations  thus  appears  to 
have  been  the  result  of  a  sort  of  instinctive  empyrical  research, 
leading  to  beneficial  results,  which  physicians  were  heretofore 
unable  to  appreciate  or  explain.  In  fact,  as  food,  coffee,  and 
tea  were  heretofore  considered  as  almost  valueless ;  but  now  it 
appears  that  they  serve  to  furnish  nitrogen  in  a  more  concen- 


378  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

trated  form  to  those  whose  indolent  habits  might  be  incompat- 
ible with  the  consumption  of  sufficient  quantity  of  ordinary 
nutriment  to  obtain  a  requisite  quantity  of  that  element. 

There  is  nothing  which  seems  more  completely  impene- 
trable to  the  human  mind  than  the  power  of  vitality.  Prob- 
ably in  no  instance  is  this  power  better  exemplified  than  in 
the  changes  which,  by  means  of  the  vital  spark,  take  place 
in  seeds  and  eggs.  In  the  latter,  especially,  the  principle  of 
life  seems  to  hold  in  check  those  chemical  affinities  which,  so 
soon  as  it  is  extinct,  convert  into  a  putrid  mass  that  which, 
life  enduring,  would  be  transformed  into  a  young  bird.  The 
vital  power  of  animal  and  vegetable  organization,  not  only 
counteracts  the  conflicting  affinities  of  inorganic  atoms;  it 
also  endows  groups,  constituted  of  little  else  than  three  or 
four  of  those  atoms,  with  powers  analogous  to  those  inherent 
in  simple  elementary  atoms,  and  thus  extends  immeasurably 
the  bounds  of  useful  chemical  reaction. 

I  infer  that  the  organs  of  animals  and  vegetables  have 
two  modes  of  effecting  the  object  for  which  they  were  created. 
In  one  mode,  in  which  chemical  reaction  would  fail  to  accom- 
plish the  requisite  transformations,  being  such  as  affect  masses 
rather  than  their  component  atoms,  the  organs  react  directly, 
in  a  mode  entirely  hidden  from  our  view.  There  is,  as  Liebig 
justly  alleges  of  such  phenomena,  an  invisible  cause.  In  the 
other  mode,  creating  such  chemical  compounds  as  are  suit- 
able for  their  purposes,  it  may  more  or  less  leave  to  these  the 
issue. 

Liebig  asserts  that  "  we  shall  obtain  that  which  is  obtain- 
able in  a  rational  enquiry  into  nature,  if  we  separate  the 
actions  belonging  to  chemical  powers,  from  those  which  are 
subordinate  to  other  influences;  "  but  the  learned  author  does 
not  show  us  how  we  may  accomplish  this  separation;  and 
probably  for  the  best  possible  reason  that,  great  as  are  un- 
doubtedly his  skill  and  his  genius,  he  is  incompetent  to  effect 
any  such  separation.  He  seems  to  forget  that  he  elsewhere 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  379 

admits  "  chemical  powers  to  be  subordinate  to  other  influ- 
ences, whether  of  life,  of  heat,  or  electricity."  To  me  it  seems, 
that  to  separate  the  action  of  these  powers  from  such  as  are 
subordinate  to  other  influences,  would  involve  their  separa- 
tion from  themselves;  and  that  it  were  inconsistent  to  sup- 
pose that  chemical  agents,  which  are  created  by  the  vital 
power,  cannot  be  also  modified  by  it  so  long  as  it  prevails. 

But,  says  this  distinguished  author:  "  the  expression  vital 
principle,  must,  meanwhile,  be  considered  as  equivalent  to 
the  terms  '  specific  '  and  '  dynamic  '  in  medicine.  Every- 
thing is  specific  which  we  cannot  explain,  while,  by  the  epithet 
dynamic,  everything  is  explained  which  we  do  not  under- 
stand" 

This  disparaging  language,  as  respects  the  power  of  life, 
seems  to  me  not  quite  consistent  with  the  following  opinions 
elsewhere  stated  by  the  celebrated  author. 

Thus  the  author,  notwithstanding  his  contemptuous  allu- 
sion to  the  vital  principle,  and  his  confounding  it  in  value 
with  words  alleged  by  him  to  be  insignificant,  in  the  passage 
last  quoted,  justly  ascribed  to  the  principle  in  question  a 
prodigious  efficacy. 

In  the  following  passage  Liebig's  mode  of  reasoning  is 
exemplified:  "  Is  it  truly  vitality  which  generates  sugar  in 
the  germ  for  the  nutrition  of  young  plants,  or  which  gives 
to  the  stomach  the  power  to  dissolve  and  prepare  for  assimila- 
tion all  the  matter  introduced  into  it?  A  decoction  of  malt 
possesses  as  little  power  to  reproduce  itself,  as  the  stomach 
of  a  dead  calf;  both  are  unquestionably  destitute  of  life,  but 
when  amylin  or  starch  is  introduced  into  a  decoction  of  malt, 
it  changes  first  into  a  gummy  like  matter,  and  lastly  into 
sugar.  Hard  boiled  albumen  and  muscular  fibre  can  be 
dissolved  in  a  decoction  of  a  calf's  stomach,  to  which  a  few 
drops  of  muriatic  acid  have  been  added  precisely  as  in  the 
stomach  itself.  The  power,  therefore,  to  effect  transforma- 


380  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

tions  does  not  belong  to  the  vital  principle.  Each  trans- 
formation is  owing  to  a  disturbance  in  the  attraction  of  the 
elements  of  a  compound,  and  is  consequently  a  purely  chem- 
ical process/' 

But  is  there  any  truth  in  the  allegation  that  in  no  other 
than  a  chemical  process,  can  there  be  any  disturbance  in  the 
attraction  of  the  elements  of  a  compound?  Is  it  by  a  chem- 
ical action  that  an  electrical  current  subverts  chemical  affin- 
ities? Is  it  by  a  chemical  action  that  vitality  endows  chem- 
ical compounds  with  peculiar  attractive  powers?  Has  not 
Liebig  sanctioned  the  opposite  idea  in  the  passages  which  I 
have  cited? 

I  conceive  that  plants  and  animals  consist,  in  the  first 
place,  of  organs  and  whatever  may  be  necessary  to  the  pre- 
servation or  efficacy  of  their  organs ;  secondly,  of  substances 
secreted  or  excreted  by  those  organs;  and,  thirdly,  of  the 
compounds  arising  from  the  reaction  of  such  substances  with 
each  other,  or  with  extraneous  chemical  agents  with  or  with- 
out an  elevation  of  temperature.  In  an  egg  we  have  an 
organic  mass  possessing  on  the  one  hand  the  wonderful  vital 
power  to  which  allusion  has  been  made,  on  the  other  contain- 
ing albumen,  a  substance  endowed  with  chemical  affinities 
for  certain  oxides  and  chlorides.  But  the  power  which  albu- 
men has  of  contributing  to  the  birth  of  the  chicken,  is  quite 
distinct  from  that,  which,  after  the  vitality  of  the  egg  is 
destroyed,  renders  it  an  antidote  for  corrosive  sublimate. 
Still  more  is  the  power  of  the  yolk  to  constitute  a  living  being, 
distinct  from  that  by  which,  when  ignited  with  potash  and 
iron,  it  may  give  rise  to  two  cyanides  as  in  the  well-known 
cyano-ferrite  of  potassium  or  ferro-prussiate  of  potash. 

The  germination  of  barley,  by  means  of  which  it  is  malted, 
is  so  dependent  upon  the  vital  principle,  that,  when  spon- 
taneously heated  by  lying  in  large  masses  on  shipboard  or 
otherwise,  it  becomes  incapable  of  the  process  above  men- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  381 

tioned.  Yet,  by  this  vital  process,  a  chemical  change  is  in- 
duced in  the  organic  mass,  by  which  it  is  more  or  less  trans- 
formed into  a  sweet  soluble  matter,  called,  when  in  solution, 
wort.  This  change  is  effected  by  the  intermediate  agency 
of  diastase,  a  substance  elaborated  from  malt.  Thus,  be- 
sides the  greater  mystery  of  life,  we  have  the  lesser  mystery 
of  the  changes  effected  by  the  "  action  or  presence  of  cataly- 
sis," as  the  process  is  designated  by  which  diastase,  or  sul- 
phuric acid,  causes  starch  to  be  converted  into  grape  sugar, 
and  yeast  converts  sugar  into  alcohol  and  carbonic  acid. 

The  saccharine  matter  produced  by  diastase,  or  other- 
wise, may,  by  nitric  acid,  be  converted  into  oxalic  acid.  Thus 
we  have  four  states  in  which  new  organic  substances  are 
produced.  First,  the  vital  organ,  endowed  with  the  germ 
of  a  living  plant;  secondly,  an  instrument  produced  by  that 
organ,  and  possessing  a  sort  of  magic  power  of  inducing 
chemical  changes  in  substances  with  which  it  does  not  com- 
bine ;  thirdly,  a  chemical  compound,  elaborated  by  this  chem- 
ical magic,  and  lastly,  a  product  resulting  from  the  reaction 
of  the  chemical  compound  with  an  inorganic  reagent. 

Among  the  greatest  wonders  of  organic  chemistry,  is  the 
acquisition  of  power,  by  elements  otherwise  inert,  from  mere 
grouping.  The  hempen  cable,  of  which  a  given  section  has 
more  strength  than  an  equal  weight  of  iron  forming  a  chain, 
consists  of  nothing  but  water  and  carbon,  into  which  it  is 
easily  resolved  by  the  application  of  heat.  By  fire  we  may 
fuse  or  oxidise  the  iron,  and  thus  equally  deprive  its  par- 
ticles of  strength ;  but,  on  collecting  the  resulting  fragments, 
metallurgic  skill  can  elaborate  another  chain,  the  cohesive 
power  of  the  metallic  particles  having  been  subdued,  not  de- 
stroyed ;  but  no  human  skill,  unaided  by  the  powers  of  vege- 
table life,  can  regenerate  another  cable  from  water  and  carbon. 

Subjected  to  ultimate  analysis,  prussic  acid,  which  is  so 
fatal  to  animals,  consists  only  of  three  of  the  ingredients  of 


382  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

their  flesh  or  blood.  It  is  constituted  of  nitrogen,  one  of 
the  elements  of  the  air  which  animals  breathe,  of  hydrogen, 
one  of  the  elements  of  the  water  which  they  drink,  and  of 
charcoal  which,  per  se,  is  inert. 

By  a  proximate  analysis,  this  deleterious  acid  is  found 
to  consist  of  hydrogen  and  cyanogen,  a  gaseous  body,  formed 
of  one  atom  of  nitrogen  and  two  of  carbon,  being,  therefore, 
a  bicarburet  of  nitrogen. 

Cyanogen  is  the  first  discovered  of  an  important  class  of 
bodies  now  called  compound  radicals  by  the  school  of  Liebig. 
These  I  would  prefer  to  designate  as  compound  elements, 
inasmuch  as  they  are  endowed  with  all  the  attributes  of  simple 
elements.  Upon  the  idea  thus  exemplified,  the  existence  in 
organic  substances  of  various  other  compound  radicals,  has 
been  inferred ;  not  only  when  capable  of  isolation,  like  cyano- 
gen, but  also  where  they  are  known  only  in  a  state  of  com- 
bination. The  discovery  of  the  existence  of  these  bodies 
forms  a  new  era  in  our  science. 

Liebig  designates  organic  chemistry  as  "  the  chemistry  of 
compound  radicals"  Nearly  twenty  primary,  or  derivative 
compound  organic  radicals,  have  been  inferred  to  exist,  of 
which  nearly  an  equal  number  are  severally  generators  of. 
acids  and  bases. 

By  Liebig  the  diversity  of  these  radicals,  as  respects  prop- 
erties, is  to  be  ascribed  either  to  the  proportions  by  weight, 
in  which  the  ultimate  elements  are  present,  or,  when  the  pro- 
portions of  these  are  equal,  to  the  mode  in  which  they  are 
grouped.  But  I  conceive  that  without  resorting  to  the  assist- 
ance of  causes  on  which  heat,  light,  electrical  reaction,  and 
nervous  influence  are  dependent,  the  proportions  or  the  group- 
ings of  their  ponderable  elements  furnishes  no  adequate 
cause  of  the  wonderful  diversity,  and  astonishing  activity  of 
certain  organic  products. 

Agreeably  to  Faraday's  inferences,  a  grain  of  water  or  a 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  383 

grain  of  zinc  contains  as  much  electricity  as  eight  hundred 
thousand  square  feet  of  well  charged  coated  glass  surface. 
Admitting  that  these  inferences  are  greatly  beyond  a  true 
estimate,  with  such  experimental  evidence  before  us,  is  it 
reasonable  to  overlook  the  quality  of  matter  on  which  its 
electrical  efficacy  is  founded?  Qf  the  existence  of  some 
potent  cause  of  electrical  phenomena  there  can  be  no  doubt ; 
and  whether  it  be  of  one  nature  or  another,  certainly  it  plays 
a  part  of  infinite  importance  throughout  the  creation. 

We  may  have  under  our  eyes  two  little  heaps  of  powder, 
conveying  to  the  senses  no  proof  that  there  is  any  difference 
in  their  composition,  or  any  potency  peculiar  to  either.  One 
of  these,  subjected  to  the  blow  of  a  hammer,  will  explode 
with  a  startling  report,  and  with  violence  sufficient  to  indent 
the  steel;  the  other  will  cause,  under  like  circumstances,  no 
similar  result;  but  if  swallowed  by  an  animal  will  be  pro- 
ductive of  death.  A  drop  of  prussic  acid  may  produce  an 
effect  no  less  fatal  by  falling  on  the  tongue  of  a  dog,  con- 
stituted of  the  same  simple  ponderable  elements  as  the  acid. 
The  consequences  are  more  like  those  of  lightning,  than  such 
as  would  result  from  the  impression  made  by  a  poison,  agree- 
ably to  the  idea  of  poisons  generally  entertained. 

We  have  innumerable  essential  oils,  spices,  and  other 
pungent  vegetable  productions,  such  as  cinnamon,  pepper, 
mustard,  and  horse-radish,  which  have  upon  the  organ  of 
taste,  smell,  or  feeling,  an  endless  variety  of  effects.  Of  the 
substances  thus  alluded  to,  many  consist  of  nearly  an  equal 
number  of  atoms  of  carbon  and  hydrogen,  while  the  rest  vary 
only  in  having,  in  addition  to  these  ingredients,  a  small  pro- 
portion of  oxygen.  It  is  quite  a  mystery  how,  by  the  powers 
of  vegetable  life,  these  ponderable  atoms  are  made  to  acquire 
such  various  qualities;  but,  as  in  the  case  of  the  fulminating 
powder,  I  have  ascribed  the  result  to  the  agency  of  impon- 
derable matter,  so  in  the  case  of  the  active  substances  engen- 


384  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

dered  by  vitality,  I  should  make  a  similar  suggestion ;  their 
adventitious  chemical,  medicinal,  or  poisonous  energy  being 
due  to  the  association  of  imponderable  matter  with  groups 
of  ponderable  atoms. 

It  seems  to  me  rather  unreasonable  in  Liebig  to  speak 
so  boldly,  as  he  is  wont,  respecting  physiological  phenomena, 
while  making  no  effort  to  explain  the  part  performed  by 
electricity  in  regard  to  them.  Is  there  not  reason  to  suppose 
that  he  has  been  so  much  occupied  by  the  analytical  depart- 
ment, that  he  is  not  sufficiently  aware  of  the  difficulty  of  doing 
justice  to  the  electro-chemical  department  of  physiology? 

The  power  of  producing  all  the  phenomena  of  voltaic 
electricity,  which  the  gymnotus  electricus  has  been  fully 
shown  to  possess,  can  leave  no  doubt  respecting  the  capacity 
of  the  animal  organization  to  generate  electricity.  It  will 
be  admitted  that  the  animal  nerves  have  functions  to  per- 
form of  the  highest  importance  to  animals ;  and  of  all  known 
agents  is  there  any  which  can  be  conceived  to  be  the  medium 
of  their  efficacy,  excepting  the  electric  fluid,  or  that  cause  of 
electrical  phenomena  which  is  usually  thus  designated. 

So  long  as  there  is  so  much  evidence  of  the  potentiality 
of  electro-chemical  reactions,  whatever  may  be  their  cause, 
and  so  long  as  we  remain  ignorant  of  the  manner  in  which 
vital,  electrical,  and  chemical  forces  are  associated,  is  it  not 
premature  to  expect  any  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  proc- 
esses of  life?  " 

Hare's  intense  love  for  everything  in  which  his  favorite 
subject — electricity — entered,  prompted  him,  after  reading 
Faraday's  immortal  Researches,  to  address  (1840)  this  stu- 
dent of  nature. 

"  Dear  Sir,- 

I  have  been  indebted  to  your  kindness  for  several  pamph- 
lets comprising  your  researches  in  electricity,  which  I  have 
perused  with  the  greatest  degree  of  interest. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  385 

You  must  be  too  well  aware  of  the  height  at  which  you 
stand,  in  the  estimation  of  men  of  science,  to  doubt  that  I 
entertain  with  diffidence,  any  opinion  in  opposition  to  yours. 
I  may  say  of  you  as  in  former  instances  of  Berzelius,  that 
you  occupy  an  elevation  inaccessible  to  unjustifiable  criti- 
cism. Under  these  circumstances,  I  hope  that  I  may,  from 
you,  experience  the  candor  and  kindness  which  were  dis- 
played by  the  great  Swedish  chemist  in  his  reply  to  my 
strictures  on  his  nomenclature. 

I  am  unable  to  reconcile  the  language  which  you  hold  in 
paragraph  1615,  with  the  fundamental  position  taken  in  1155. 
Agreeably  to  the  latter,  you  believe  ordinary  induction  to  be 
the  action  of  contiguous  particles,  consisting  of  a  species  of 
polarity,  instead  of  being  an  action  of  either  particles  or 
masses  at  "  sensible  distances."  Agreeably  to  the  former, 
you  conceive  that  "  assuming  that  a  perfect  vacuum  was  to 
intervene  in  the  course  of  the  line  of  inductive  action,  it  does 
not  follow  from  this  theory  that  the  line  of  particles  on  op- 
posite sides  of  such  a  vacuum  would  not  act  upon  each  other." 
Again,  supposing  "  it  possible  for  a  positively  electrified  par- 
ticle to  be  in  the  centre  of  a  vacuum  an  inch  in  diameter, 
nothing  in  my  present  view  forbids  that  the  particle  should 
act  at  a  distance  of  half  an  inch  on  all  the  particles  forming 
the  disk  of  the  inner  superficies  of  the  bounding  sphere." 

Laying  these  quotations  before  you  for  reconsideration, 
I  beg  leave  to  inquire  how  a  positively  excited  particle,  situ- 
ated as  above  described,  can  react  "  inductrically  "  with  any 
particles  in  the  superficies  of  the  surrounding  sphere,  if  this 
species  of  reaction  require  that  the  particles  between  which 
it  takes  place  be  contiguous.  Moreover  if  induction  be  not 
"  an  action  either  of  particles  of  masses  at  sensible  distances," 
how  can  a  particle  situated  as  above  described,  ff  act  at  the 
distance  of  half  an  inch  on  all  the  particles  forming  the  disk 
of  the  inner  superficies  of  the  bounding  sphere?  "  What  is 
a  sensible  distance,  if  half  an  inch  is  not? 

25 


386  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

How  can  the  force  thus  exercised  obey  the  "  well  known 
law  of  the  squares  of  the  distances,"  if  as  you  state  ( 1375 )  the 
rarefaction  of  the  air  does  not  alter  the  intensity  of  the  in- 
ductive action?  In  proportion  as  the  air  is  rarefied,  do  not 
its  particles  become  more  remote? 

Can  the  ponderable  particles  of  a  gas  be  deemed  con- 
tiguous in  the  true  sense  of  this  word,  under  any  circum- 
stances ?  And  it  may  be  well  here  to  observe,  that  admitting 
induction  to  arise  from  an  affection  of  intervening  ponder- 
able atoms,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  that  the  intensity  of  this 
affection  will  be  inversely  as  their  number  as  alleged  by  you. 
No  such  law  holds  good  in  the  communication  of  heat.  The 
air  in  contact  with  a  surface  at  a  constant  elevation  of  tem- 
perature, such  for  instance  as  might  be  supported  by  boiling 
water,  would  not  become  hotter  by  being  rarefied,  and  con- 
sequently could  not  become  more  efficacious  in  the  conduction 
of  heat  from  the  heated  surface  to  a  colder  one  in  its  vicinity. 

As  soon  as  I  commenced  the  perusal  of  your  researches 
on  this  subject,  it  occurred  to  me  that  the  passage  of  elec- 
tricity through  a  vacuum,  or  a  highly  rarefied  medium,  as 
demonstrated  by  various  experiments,  and  especially  those  of 
Davy,  was  inconsistent  with  the  idea  that  ponderable  matter 
could  be  a  necessary  agent  in  the  process  of  electrical  induc- 
tion. I  therefore  inferred  that  your  efforts  would  be  pri- 
marily directed  to  a  re-examination  of  that  question. 

If  induction,  in  action  through  a  vacuum,  be  propagated 
in  right  lines,  may  not  the  curvilinear  direction  which  it  pur- 
sues, when  passing  through  "  dielectrics,"  be  ascribed  to  the 
modifying  influence  which  they  exert? 

If,  as  you  concede,  electrified  particles  on  opposite  sides 
of  a  vacuum  can  act  upon  each  other,  wherefore  is  the  re- 
ceived theory  of  the  mode  in  which  the  excited  surface  of  a 
Leyden  jar  induces  in  the  opposite  surface,  a  contrary  state, 
objectionable? 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  387 

As  the  theory  which  you  have  proposed,  gives  great  im- 
portance to  the  idea  of  polarity,  I  regret  that  you  have  not 
defined  the  meaning  which  you  attach  to  this  word.  As  you 
designate  that  to  which  you  refer,  as  a  "  species  of  Polarity," 
it  is  presumable  that  you  have  conceived  of  several  kinds  with 
which  ponderable  atoms  may  be  endowed.  I  find  it  diffi- 
cult to  conceive  of  any  kind  which  may  be  capable  of  as  many 
degrees  of  intensity  as  the  known  phenomena  of  electricity 
require;  especially  according  to  your  opinion  that  the  only 
difference  between  the  fluid  evolved  by  galvanic  apparatus 
and  that  evolved  by  friction,  is  due  to  opposite  extremes  in 
quantity  and  intensity;  the  intensity  of  electrical  excitement 
producible  by  the  one,  being  almost  infinitely  greater  than  that 
which  can  be  produced  by  the  other.  What  state  of  the 
poles  can  constitute  quantity — what  other  state  intensity,  the 
same  matter  being  capable  of  either  electricity,  as  is  well 
known  to  be  the  fact?  Would  it  not  be  well  to  consider  how, 
consistently  with  any  conceivable  polarization,  and  without 
the  assistance  of  some  imponderable  matter,  any  great  differ- 
ence of  intensity  in  inductive  power,  can  be  created? 

When  by  friction  the  surface  is  polarized  so  that  particles 
are  brought  into  a  state  of  constraint  from  which  they  en- 
deavour to  return  to  their  natural  state,  if  nothing  be  super- 
added  to  them,  it  must  be  supposed  that  they  have  poles 
capable  of  existing  in  two  different  positions.  In  one  of 
these  positions,  dissimilar  poles  coinciding,  are  neutralized; 
while  in  the  other  position,  they  are  more  remote,  and  con- 
sequently capable  of  acting  upon  other  matter. 

But  I  am  unable  to  imagine  any  change  which  can  admit 
of  gradations  of  intensity,  increasing  with  remoteness.  I 
cannot  figure  to  myself  any  reaction  which  increase  of  dis- 
tance would  not  lessen.  Much  less  can  I  conceive  that  such 
extremes  of  intensity  can  be  thus  created,  as  those  of  which 
you  consider  the  existence  as  demonstrated.  It  may  be  sug- 


388  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

gested  that  the  change  of  polarity  produced  in  particles  by 
electrical  inductions,  may  arise  from  the  forced  approxima- 
tion of  reciprocally  repellent  poles,  so  that  the  intensity  of 
the  inductive  force,  and  of  their  effort  to  return  to  their 
previous  situation,  may  be  susceptible  of  the  gradation  which 
your  electrical  doctrines  require.  But  could  the  existence  of 
such  a  repellent  force  be  consistent  with  the  mutual  cohesion 
which  appears  almost  universally  to  be  a  property  of  ponder- 
able particles?  I  am  aware  that,  agreeably  to  the  ingenious 
hypothesis  of  Mossotti,  repulsion  is  an  inherent  property  of 
the  particles  which  we  call  ponderable;  but  then  he  assumes 
the  existence  of  an  imponderable  fluid  to  account  for  co- 
hesion; and  for  the  necessity  of  such  a  fluid  to  account  for 
induction  it  is  my  ultimate  object  to  contend.  I  would  sug- 
gest that  it  can  hardly  be  expedient  to  ascribe  the  phenom- 
ena of  electricity  to  the  polarization  of  ponderable  particles, 
unless  it  can  be  shown  that  if  admitted,  it  would  be  com- 
petent to  produce  all  the  known  varieties  of  electric  excite- 
ment, whether  as  to  its  nature  or  energy. 

If  I  comprehend  your  theory,  the  opposite  electrical  state 
induced  on  one  side  of  a  coated  pane,  when  the  other  is  directly 
electrified,  arises  from  an  affection  of  the  intervening  vitreous 
particles,  by  which  a  certain  polar  state  caused  on  one  side 
of  the  pane,  induces  an  opposite  state  on  the  other  side.  Each 
vitreous  particle  having  its  poles  severally  in  opposite  states, 
they  are  arranged  as  magnetized  iron  filings  in  lines ;  so  that 
alternately  opposite  poles  are  presented  in  such  a  manner  that 
all  of  one  kind  are  exposed  at  one  surface,  and  all  of  the 
other  kind  at  the  other  surface.  Agreeably  to  this  or  any 
other  imaginable  view  of  the  subject,  I  cannot  avoid  consid- 
ering it  inevitable  that  each  particle  must  have  at  least  two 
poles.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  idea  of  polarity  requires 
that  there  shall  be  in  any  body  possessing  it,  two  opposite 
poles.  Hence  you  correctly  allege  that  agreeably  to  your 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  389 

views  it  is  impossible  to  charge  a  portion  of  matter  with  one 
electric  force  without  the  other  (see  par.  1177).  But  if  all 
this  be  true,  how  can  there  be  a  "  positively  excited  particle?  " 
(See  par.  1616.)  Must  not  every  particle  be  excited  nega- 
tively, if  it  be  excited  positively?  Must  it  not  have  a  nega- 
tive, as  well  as  a  positive  pole? 

I  cannot  agree  with  you  in  the  idea  that  consistently  with 
the  theory  which  ascribes  the  phenomena  of  electricity  to  one 
fluid,  there  can  ever  be  an  isolated  existence  either  of  the  posi- 
tive or  negative  state.  Agreeably  to  this  theory,  any  excited 
space,  whether  minus  or  plus,  must  have  an  adjoining  space 
relatively  in  a  different  state.  Between  the  phenomena  of 
positive  and  negative  excitement  there  will  be  no  other  dis- 
tinction than  that  arising  from  the  direction  in  which  the 
fluid  will  endeavor  to  move.  If  the  excited  space  be  positive, 
it  must  strive  to  flow  outward;  if  negative,  it  will  strive  to 
flow  inward.  When  sufficiently  intense,  the  direction  will 
be  shown  by  the  greater  length  of  the  spark,  when  passing 
from  a  small  ball  to  a  large  one.  It  is  always  longer  when 
the  small  ball  is  positive,  and  the  large  one  negative,  than 
when  their  positions  are  reversed. 

But  for  any  current  it  is  no  less  necessary  that  the  pressure 
should  be  on  one  side  comparatively  minus,  than  that  on  the 
other  side,  it  should  be  comparatively  plus;  and  this  state  of 
the  forces  must  exist  whether  the  current  originates  from  a  hia- 
tus before,  or  from  pressure  behind.  One  current  cannot  differ 
essentially  from  another,  however  they  may  be  produced. 

In  paragraph  1330,  I  have  been  struck  with  the  follow- 
ing query,  "  What  then  is  to  separate  the  principle  of  these 
extremes,  perfect  conduction  and  perfect  insulation,  from 
each  other;  since  the  moment  we  leave  the  smallest  degree 
of  perfection  at  either  extremity,  we  involve  the  element  of 
perfection  at  the  opposite  ends?  "  Might  not  this  query  be 
made  with  as  much  reason  in  the  case  of  motion  and  rest, 


390  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

between  the  extremes  of  which  there  is  an  infinity  of  grada- 
tions? If  we  are  not  to  confound  motion  with  rest,  because 
in  proportion  as  the  former  is  retarded,  it  differs  less  from 
the  latter;  wherefore  should  we  confound  insulation  with  con- 
duction, because  in  proportion  as  the  one  is  less  efficient,  it 
becomes  less  remote  from  the  other? 

In  any  case  of  the  intermixture  of  opposite  qualities,  may 
it  not  be  said  in  the  language  which  you  employ  "  the  moment 
we  leave  the  element  of  perfection  at  one  extremity,  we  in- 
volve the  element  of  perfection  at  the  opposite."  Might  it 
not  be  said  of  light  and  darkness,  or  of  opaqueness  and  trans- 
lucency;  in  which  case  to  resort  to  your  language  again,  it 
might  be  added  "  especially  as  we  have  not  in  nature,  a  case 
of  perfection  at  one  extremity  or  the  other."  But  if  there  be 
not  in  nature,  any  two  bodies  of  which  one  possesses  the 
property  of  perfectly  resisting  the  passage  of  electricity, 
while  the  other  is  endowed  with  the  faculty  of  permitting  its 
passage  without  any  resistance ;  does  this  affect  the  propriety 
of  considering  the  qualities  of  insulation  and  conduction  in 
the  abstract,  as  perfectly  distinct,  and  inferring  that  so  far 
as  matter  may  be  endowed  with  the  one  property,  it  must  be 
wanting  in  the  other? 

Have  you  ever  known  electricity  to  pass  through  a  pane 
of  sound  glass?  My  knowledge  and  experience  create  an 
impression  that  a  coated  pane  is  never  discharged  through  the 
glass  unless  it  be  cracked  or  perforated.  That  the  property 
by  which  glass  resists  the  passage  of  electricity,  can  be  con- 
founded with  that  which  enables  a  metallic  wire  to  permit  of 
its  transfer,  agreeably  to  Wheatstone's  experiments,  with  a 
velocity  greater  than  that  of  the  solar  rays,  is  to  my  mind 
inconceivable. 

You  infer  that  the  residual  charge  of  a  battery  arises 
from  the  partial  penetration  of  the  glass  by  the  opposite 
excitements.  But  if  glass  be  penetrable  by  electricity,  why 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  391 

does  it  not  pass  through  it  without  a  fracture  or  perforation? 

According  to  your  doctrine,  induction  consists  "  in  a 
forced  state  of  polarization  in  contiguous  rows  of  the  par- 
ticles of  the  glass"  (1300);  and  since  this  is  propagated 
from  one  side  to  the  other,  it  must  of  course  exist  equally  at 
all  depths.  Yet  the  partial  penetration  suggested  by  you, 
supposes  a  collateral  affection  of  the  same  kind,  extending 
only  to  a  limited  depth.  Is  this  consistent?  Is  it  not  more 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  air  in  the  vicinity  of  the  coat- 
ing gradually  relinquishes  to  it  a  portion  of  free  electricity, 
conveyed  into  it  by  what  you  call  "  convection."  The  coating 
being  equally  in  contact  with  the  air  and  glass,  it  appears 
to  me  more  easy  to  conceive  that  the  air  might  be  penetrated 
by  the  excitement,  than  the  glass. 

In  paragraph  1300,  I  observe  the  following  statement: 
"  When  a  Leyden  jar  is  charged  the  particles  of  the  glass 
are  forced  into  this  polarized  and  constrained  condition  by 
the  electricity  of  the  charging  apparatus.  Discharge  is  the 
return  of  the  particles  to  their  natural  state,  from  their  state 
of  tension,  whenever  the  two  electric  forces  are  allowed  to  be 
disposed  of  in  some  other  direction."  As  you  have  not  previ- 
ously mentioned  any  particular  direction  in  which  the  forces 
are  exercised  during  the  prevalence  of  this  constrained  con- 
dition, I  am  at  a  loss  as  to  what  meaning  I  am  to  attach  to 
the  words  "some  other  direction."  The  word  some,  would  lead 
to  the  idea  that  there  was  an  uncertainty  respecting  the  direc- 
tion in  which  the  forces  might  be  disposed  of;  whereas  it  ap- 
pears to  me  that  the  only  direction  in  which  they  can  operate, 
must  be  the  opposite  of  that  by  which  they  have  been  induced. 

The  electrified  particles  can  only  "  return  to  their  natural 
state  "  by  retracing  the  path  by  which  they  departed  from  it. 
I  would  suggest  that  for  the  words  ff  to  be  disposed  of  in  some 
other  direction"  it  would  be  better  to  substitute  the  follow- 
ing, "  to  compensate  each  other  by  an  adequate  communi- 
cation." 


392  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

Agreeably  to  the  explanation  of  the  phenomenon  of 
coated  electrics  afforded  in  the  paragraph  above  quoted 
( 1300) ,  by  what  process  can  it  be  conceived  that  the  opposite 
polarization  of  the  surfaces  can  be  neutralized  by  conduction 
through  a  metallic  wire?  If  I  understand  your  hypothesis 
correctly,  the  process  by  which  the  polarization  of  one  of  the 
vitreous  surfaces  in  a  pane  produces  an  opposite  polariza- 
tion in  the  other,  is  precisely  the  same  as  that  by  which,  the 
electricity  applied  to  one  end  of  the  wire  extends  itself  to  the 
other  end. 

I  cannot  conceive  how  two  processes  severally  producing 
results  so  diametrically  opposite  as  insulation  and  conduction, 
can  be  the  same.  By  the  former,  a  derangement  of  the  elec- 
tric equilibrium  may  be  permanently  sustained,  while  by  the 
other,  all  derangement  is  counteracted  with  a  rapidity  almost 
infinite.  But  if  the  opposite  charges  are  dependent  upon  a 
polarity  induced  in  contiguous  atoms  of  the  glass,  which 
endures  so  long  as  no  communication  ensues  between  the 
surfaces ;  by  what  conceivable  process  can  a  perfect  conductor 
cause  a  discharge  to  take  place,  with  a  velocity  at  least  as 
great  as  that  of  the  solar  light?  Is  it  conceivable  that  all  the 
lines  of  "  contra-induction  "  or  depolarization  can  concentrate 
themselves  upon  the  wire  from  each  surface  so  as  to  produce 
therein  an  intensity  of  polarization  proportioned  to  the  con- 
centration; and  that  the  opposite  forces  resulting  from  the 
polarization  are  thus  reciprocally  compensated  ?  I  must  con- 
fess, such  a  concentration  of  such  forces  or  states,  is  to  me 
difficult  to  reconcile  with  the  conception  that  it  is  at  all  to 
be  ascribed  to  the  action  of  rows  of  contiguous  ponderable 
particles. 

Does  not  your  hypothesis  require  that  the  metallic  par- 
ticles, at  opposite  ends  of  the  wire,  shall  in  the  first  instance 
be  subjected  to  the  same  polarization  as  the  excited  particles 
of  the  glass ;  and  that  the  opposite  polarizations,  transmitted 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  393 

to  some  intervening  point,  should  thus  be  mutually  destroyed, 
the  one  by  the  other?  But  if  discharge  involves  a  return 
to  the  same  state  in  vitreous  particles,  the  same  must  be  true 
in  those  of  the  metallic  wire.  Wherefore  then  are  these  dis- 
sipated, when  the  discharge  is  sufficiently  powerful?  Their 
dissipation  must  take  place  either  while  they  are  in  the  state 
of  being  polarized,  or  in  that  of  returning  to  their  natural 
state.  But  if  it  happen  when  in  the  first  mentioned  state, 
the  conductor  must  be  destroyed  before  the  opposite  polariza- 
tion upon  the  surfaces  can  be  neutralized  by  its  intervention. 
But  if  not  dissipated  in  the  act  of  being  polarized,  is  it  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  the  metallic  particles  can  be  sundered 
by  returning  to  their  natural  state  of  depolarization? 

Supposing  that  ordinary  electrical  induction  could  be 
satisfactorily  ascribed  to  the  reaction  of  ponderable  particles, 
it  cannot,  it  seems  to  me,  be  pretended  that  magnetic  and  elec- 
tro-magnetic induction  is  referable  to  this  species  of  reaction. 
It  will  be  admitted  that  the  Faradian  currents  do  not  for 
their  production  require  intervening  ponderable  atoms. 

From  a  note  subjoined  to  page  37  of  your  pamphlet,  it 
appears  that  "  on  the  question  of  the  existence  of  one  or  more 
imponderable  fluids  as  the  cause  of  electrical  phenomena,  it 
has  not  been  your  intention  to  decide."  I  should  be  much 
gratified  if  any  of  the  strictures  in  which  I  have  been  so  bold 
as  to  indulge,  should  contribute  to  influence  your  ultimate 
decision. 

It  appears  to  me  that  there  has  been  an  undue  disposition 
to  burden  the  matter,  usually  regarded  as  such,  with  more 
duties  than  it  can  perform.  Although  it  is  only  with  the 
properties  of  matter  that  we  have  a  direct  acquaintance,  and 
the  existence  of  matter  rests  upon  a  theoretic  inference  that 
since  we  perceive  properties,  there  must  be  material  particles 
to  which  those  properties  belong;  yet  there  is  no  conviction 
which  the  mass  of  mankind  entertain  with  more  firmness  than 


394  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

that  of  the  existence  of  matter  in  that  ponderable  form,  in 
which  it  is  instinctively  recognized  by  people  of  common  sense. 
Not  perceiving  that  this  conviction  can  only  be  supported  as  a 
theoretic  deduction  from  our  perception  of  the  properties; 
there  is  a  reluctance  to  admit  the  existence  of  other  matter, 
which  has  not  in  its  favor  the  same  instinctive  conception, 
although  theoretically  similar  reasoning  would  apply.  But 
if  one  kind  of  matter  be  admitted  to  exist  because  we  per- 
ceive properties,  the  existence  of  which  cannot  be  otherwise 
explained,  are  we  not  warranted,  if  we  notice  more  proper- 
ties than  can  reasonably  be  assigned  to  one  kind  of  matter,  to 
assume  the  existence  of  another  kind  of  matter? 

Independently  of  the  considerations  which  have  hereto- 
fore led  some  philosophers  to  suppose  that  we  are  surrounded 
by  an  ocean  of  electric  matter,  which  by  its  redundancy  or 
deficiency  is  capable  of  producing  the  phenomena  of  mechan- 
ical electricity,  it  has  appeared  to  me  inconceivable  that  the 
phenomena  of  galvanism  and  electro-magnetism,  latterly 
brought  into  view,  can  be  satisfactorily  explained  without 
supposing  the  agency  of  an  intervening  imponderable  medium 
by  whose  subserviency  the  inductive  influence  of  currents  or 
magnets  is  propagated.  If  in  that  wonderful  reciprocal  re- 
action between  masses  and  particles,  to  which  I  have  alluded, 
the  polarization  of  condensed  or  accumulated  portions  of  in- 
tervening imponderable  matter,  can  be  brought  in  as  a  link 
to  connect  the  otherwise  imperfect  chain  of  causes ;  it  would 
appear  to  me  a  most  important  instrument  in  lifting  the 
curtain  which  at  present  hides  from  our  intellectual  vision, 
this  highly  important  mechanism  of  nature. 

Having  devised  so  many  ingenious  experiments  tending 
to  show  that  the  received  ideas  of  electrical  inductions  are 
inadequate  to  explain  the  phenomena  without  supposing  a 
modifying  influence  in  intervening  ponderable  matter,  should 
there  prove  to  be  cases  in  which  the  results  cannot  be  satis- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  395 

f actorily  explained  by  ascribing  them  to  ponderable  particles, 
I  hope  that  you  may  be  induced  to  review  the  whole  ground,  in 
order  to  determine  whether  the  part  to  be  assigned  to  contigu- 
ous ponderable  particles,  be  not  secondary  to  that  performed 
by  the  imponderable  principles  by  which  they  are  surrounded. 

But  if  galvanic  phenomena  be  due  to  ponderable  mat- 
ter, evidently  that  matter  must  be  in  a  state  of  combination. 
To  what  other  cause  than  an  intense  affinity  between  it  and 
the  metallic  particles  with  which  it  is  associated,  can  its  con- 
finement be  ascribed  consistently  with  your  estimate  of  the 
enormous  quantity  which  exists  in  metals?  If  "  a  grain  of 
water,  or  a  grain  of  zinc,  contain  as  much  of  the  electric  fluid 
as  would  supply  eight  hundred  thousand  charges  of  a  battery 
containing  a  coated  surface  of  fifteen  hundred  square  inches," 
how  intense  must  be  the  attraction  by  which  this  matter  is 
confined?  In  such  cases  may  not  the  material  cause  of  elec- 
tricity be  considered  as  latent  agreeably  to  the  suggestion  of 
Oersted,  the  founder  of  electro-magnetism.  It  is  in  com- 
bination with  matter,  and  only  capable  of  producing  the  ap- 
propriate effects  of  voltaic  currents  when  in  act  of  transfer 
from  combination  with  one  atom  to  another;  this  transfer 
being  at  once  an  effect  and  a  cause  of  chemical  decomposition, 
as  you  have  demonstrated. 

If  polarization  in  any  form,  can  be  conceived  to  admit 
of  the  requisite  gradations  of  intensity,  which  the  phenomena 
seem  to  demand ;  would  it  not  be  more  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  it  operates  by  means  of  an  imponderable  fluid  existing 
throughout  all  space,  however  devoid  of  other  matter?  May 
not  an  electric  current,  so  called,  be  a  progressive  polariza- 
tion of  rows  of  the  electric  particles,  the  polarity  being  pro- 
duced at  one  end  and  destroyed  at  the  other  incessantly,  as  I 
understood  you  to  suggest  in  the  case  of  contiguous  ponder- 
able atoms. 

When  the  electric  particles  within  different  wires  are 


396  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

polarized  in  the  same  tangential  direction,  the  opposite  poles 
being  in  proximity,  there  will  be  attraction.  When  the  cur- 
rents of  polarization  move  oppositely,  similar  poles  coin- 
ciding, there  will  be  repulsion.  The  phenomena  require  that 
the  magnetized  or  polarized  particles  should  be  arranged  as 
tangents  to  the  circumference,  not  as  radii  to  the  axis.  More- 
over, the  progressive  movement  must  be  propagated  in  spiral 
lines  in  order  to  account  for  rotary  influence. 

Between  a  wire  which  is  the  mean  of  a  galvanic  discharge 
and  another  not  making  a  part  of  a  circuit,  the  electric  mat- 
ter which  intervenes,  may,  by  undergoing  a  polarization,  be- 
come the  medium  of  producing  a  progressive  polarization  in 
the  second  wire  moving  in  a  direction  opposite  to  that  in  the 
inducing  wire;  or  in  other  words  an  electrical  current  of  the 
species  called  Faradian  may  be  generated. 

By  progressive  polarization  in  a  wire,  may  not  stationary 
polarization,  or  magnetism  be  created;  and  reciprocally  by 
magnetic  polarity  may  not  progressive  polarization  be 
excited? 

Might  not  the  difficulty,  above  suggested,  of  the  incom- 
petency  of  any  imaginable  polarization  to  produce  all  the 
varieties  of  electrical  excitement  which  facts  require  for  ex- 
planation, be  surmounted  by  supposing  intensity  to  result 
from  an  accumulation  of  free  electric  polarized  particles,  and 
quantity  from  a  still  greater  accumulation  of  such  particles, 
polarized  in  a  latent  state  or  in  chemical  combination? 

There  are,  it  would  seem,  many  indications  in  favor  of 
the  idea  that  electric  excitement  may  be  due  to  a  forced  polar- 
ity, but  in  endeavoring  to  define  the  state  thus  designated, 
or  to  explain  by  means  of  it  the  diversities  of  electrical  charges, 
currents  and  effects,  I  have  always  felt  the  incompetency 
of  any  hypothesis  which  I  could  imagine.  How  are  we  to 
explain  the  insensibility  of  a  gold  leaf  electroscope,  to  a  gal- 
vanized wire,  or  the  indifference  of  a  magnetic  needle  to  the 
most  intensely  electrified  surfaces? 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  397 

Possibly  the  Franklinian  hypothesis  may  be  combined 
with  that  above  suggested,  so  that  an  electrical  current  may 
be  constituted  of  an  imponderable  fluid  in  a  state  of  polariza- 
tion, the  two  electricities  being  the  consequence  of  the  posi- 
tion of  the  poles,  or  their  presentation.  Positive  electricity 
may  be  the  result  of  an  accumulation  of  electric  particles, 
presenting  poles  of  one  kind ;  negative,  from  a  like  accumula- 
tion of  the  same  matter  with  a  presentation  of  the  opposite 
poles,  inducing  of  course  an  opposite  polarity.  The  con- 
densation of  the  electric  matter,  within  ponderable  matter, 
may  vary  in  obedience  to  a  property  analogous  to  that  which 
determines  the  capacity  for  heat,  and  the  different  influence 
of  dielectrics  upon  the  process  of  electrical  induction  may 
arise  from  this  source  of  variation. 

With  the  highest  esteem,  I  am  yours  truly, 

ROBERT  HARE." 

Faraday's  reply  is  so  delightfully  human  and  evidences 
the  nobility  of  his  great  soul,  that  it  is  given  here  in  part: 

"  My  dear  sir:  '  London,  England. 

i.  Your  kind  remarks  have  caused  me  very  carefully  to 
revise  the  general  principles  of  the  view  of  static  induction, 
which  I  have  ventured  to  put  forth,  with  the  very  natural 
fear  that  as  it  did  not  obtain  your  acceptance  it  might  be 
found  in  error ;  for  it  is  not  a  mere  complimentary  expression, 
when  I  say,  I  have  very  great  respect  for  your  judgment. 
As  the  reconsideration  of  them  has  not  made  me  aware  that 
they  differ  amongst  themselves  or  with  facts,  the  resulting 
impression  on  my  mind  is  that  I  must  have  expressed  my 
meaning  imperfectly;  and  I  have  a  hope,  that  when  more 
clearly  stated,  my  views  may  gain  your  approbation.  I  feel 
that  many  of  the  words  in  the  language  of  electrical  science 
possess  much  meaning,  and  yet  their  interpretation  by  differ- 
ent philosophers  often  varies  more  or  less,  so  that  they  do 


398  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

not  convey  exactly  the  same  idea  to  the  minds  of  different 
men;  this  often  renders  it  difficult  when  such  words  force 
themselves  into  use,  to  express  with  brevity  as  much  as,  and 
no  more  than,  one  really  wishes  to  say. 

ii.  My  theory  of  induction  .  .  .  makes  no  assertion 
as  to  the  nature  of  electricity,  ...  It  does  not  even  in- 
clude the  origination  of  the  developed  or  excited  state  of  the 
power  or  powers;  but  taking  that  as  it  is  given  by  experi- 
ment and  observation,  it  concerns  itself  only  with  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  force  in  its  communication  to  a  distance  in  that 
particular  yet  very  general  phenomenon  called  static  in- 
duction. .  ;  » 

iii.  Bodies,  whether  conductors  or  non-conductors,  can 
be  charged.  The  word  charge  is  equivocal;  sometimes  it 
means  that  state  which  a  glass  tube  acquires  when  rubbed 
by  silk,  or  which  the  prime  conductor  of  a  machine  acquires 
when  the  latter  is  in  action ;  at  other  times  it  means  the  state 
of  a  Leyden  jar  or  similar  inductive  arrangement  when  it  is 
said  to  be  charged.  .  .  v 

vii.  Simple  charge  therefore  does  not  imply  polarity  in 
the  body  charged.  Inductive  charge  .  .  .  does  (1672). 
The  word  charge,  as  applied  to  a  Leyden  jar  or  to  the  whole 
of  any  inductive  arrangement,  by  including  all  the  effects, 
comprehends  of  course  both  these  states.  .  .  . 

xvi.  In  my  papers  I  speak  of  all  induction  as  being  de- 
pendent on  the  action  of  contiguous  particles;  i.e.  I  assume 
that  insulating  bodies  consist  of  particles  which  are  conductors 
individually,  but  do  not  conduct  to  each  other  provided  the 
intensity  of  action  to  which  they  are  subject  is  beneath  a  given 
amount;  and,  that  when  the  inductric  body  acts  upon  con- 
ductors at  a  distance,  it  does  so  by  polarizing  all  those  par- 
ticles which  occur  in  the  portion  of  dielectric  between  it  and 
them.  I  have  used  the  term  contiguous,  but  have,  I  hope, 
sufficiently  expressed  the  meaning  I  attach  to  it:  first  by  say- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  399 

ing  "  the  next  existing  particle  being  considered  as  the  con- 
tiguous one;  "  then  in  a  note  "  I  mean  by  contiguous  par- 
ticles those  which  are  next  to  each  other,  not  that  there  is  no 
space  between  them,"  and,  further,  by  the  note  to  par.  1164 
in  the  8  vo.  edition  of  my  researches  which  is  as  follows :  "  The 
word  contiguous  is  perhaps  not  the  best  that  might  have  been 
used  here  and  elsewhere,  for  as  particles  do  not  touch  each 
other  it  is  not  strictly  correct;  I  was  induced  to  employ  it 
because  in  its  common  acceptation  it  enabled  me  to  state  the 
theory  plainly  and  with  facility.  By  contiguous  particles  I 
mean  those  which  are  next. 

xvii.  Finally,  my  reasons  for  adopting  the  molecular 
theory  of  induction  were,  the  phenomena  of  electrolytic  dis- 
charge (1164,  1343) ;  of  induction  in  curved  lines  (1166, 
1215)  ;  of  specific  inductive  capacity  (1167,  1252) ;  of  pene- 
tration and  return  action  (1245) ;  of  difference  of  conduction 
and  insulation  (1320) ;  of  polar  forces  (1665),  &c.  &c.;  but, 
for  these  reasons,  and  any  strength  and  value  they  may  pos- 
sess, I  refer  to  the  papers  themselves. 

xviii.  I  will  now  turn  to  such  parts  of  your  critical  re- 
marks as  may  require  attention.  A  man  who  advances  what 
he  thinks  to  be  new  truths,  and  to  develop  principles  which 
profess  to  be  more  consistent  with  the  laws  of  nature,  than 
those  already  in  the  field,  is  liable  to  be  charged,  first  with 
self-contradiction;  then  with  the  contradiction  of  facts;  or 
he  may  be  obscure  in  his  expressions  and  so  justly  subject 
to  certain  queries ;  or  he  may  be  found  in  non-agreement  with 
the  opinions  of  others.  The  first  and  second  points  are  very 
important,  and  every  one  subject  to  such  charges,  must  be 
anxious  to  be  made  aware  of,  and  also  to  set  himself  free 
from,  or  to  acknowledge  them.  The  third  is  also  a  fault  to 
be  removed  if  possible.  The  fourth  is  a  matter  of  but  small 
consequence  in  comparison  with  the  other  three ;  for  as  every 
man,  who  has  the  courage,  not  to  say  rashness,  to  form  an 


400  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

opinion  of  his  own,  thinks  it  better  than  any  from  which  he 
differs,  so  it  is  only  deeper  investigation  and,  most  generally, 
future  investigators  who  can  decide  which  is  in  the  right. 

xix.  I  am  afraid  I  shall  find  it  rather  difficult  to  refer 
to  your  letter.  I  will  however  reckon  the  paragraphs  in 
order  from  the  top  of  each  page,  considering  that  the  first 
which  has  its  beginning  first  in  the  page.  In  referring  to  my 
own  matter,  I  will  employ  the  usual  figures  for  the  para- 
graphs of  the  experimental  researches,  and  small  Roman 
numerals  for  those  of  this  communication. 

xx.  At  par.  3,  p.  1,  you  say  you  cannot  reconcile  my  lan- 
guage at  1615  with  that  at  1165.  In  the  latter  place  I  have 
said,  I  believe  ordinary  induction  in  all  cases  to  be  an  action 
of  contiguous  particles ;  and  in  the  former,  assuming  a  very 
hypothetical  case,  that  of  a  vacuum,  I  have  said  nothing  in 
my  theory  which  forbids  that  a  charged  particle  in  the  centre 
of  a  vacuum  should  act  on  the  particle  next  to  it,  though  that 
should  be  half  an  inch  off.  With  the  meaning  which  I  have 
carefully  attached  to  the  word  contiguous,  xvi,  I  see  no  con- 
tradiction here  in  the  terms  used,  nor  any  natural  impossi- 
bility, or  improbability  in  such  an  action.  Nevertheless,  all 
ordinary  induction  is  to  me  an  action  of  contiguous  particles, 
being  particles  at  insensible  distances;  induction  across  a 
vacuum  is  not  an  ordinary  instance,  and  yet  I  do  not  perceive 
that  it  cannot  come  under  the  same  principle  of  action. 

xxi.  As  an  illustration  of  my  meaning,  I  may  refer  to  the 
case  parallel  with  mine,  as  to  the  extreme  difference  of  in- 
terval between  the  acting  particles  or  bodies,  of  the  modern 
views  of  the  radiation  and  conduction  of  heat.  In  radiation 
the  rays  leave  the  hot  particles  and  pass  occasionally  through 
great  distances  to  the  next  particle  fitted  to  receive  them ;  in 
conduction,  where  the  heat  passes  from  the  hotter  particles  to 
those  which  are  contiguous  and  form  part  of  the  same  mass, 
still  the  passage  is  considered  to  be  by  a  process  precisely  like 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  401 

that  of  radiation;  and  though  the  effects  are  as  is  well  known 
extremely  different  in  their  appearance,  it  cannot  as  yet  be 
shewn  that  the  principle  of  communication  is  not  the  same  in 
both. 

xxii.  So  on  this  point  respecting  contiguous  particles  and 
induction  across  half  an  inch  of  vacuum,  I  do  not  see  that  I  am 
in  contradiction  with  myself,  or  with  any  natural  law  or  fact. 

xxv.  Par  3,  page  2,  is  answered,  except  in  the  matter 
of  opinion  (xviii)  according  to  my  theory  by  xvi.  The  con- 
duction of  heat  referred  to  in  the  paragraph  itself,  will,  as 
it  appears  to  me,  bear  no  comparison  with  the  phenomenon 
of  electrical  induction: — the  first  refers  to  the  distant  influ- 
ence of  an  agent  which  travels  by  a  very  slow  process,  the 
second  to  one  whose  distant  influence  is  simultaneous,  so  to 
speak,  with  the  origin  of  the  force  at  the  place  of  action: — 
the  first  refers  to  an  agent  which  is  represented  by  the  idea 
of  one  imponderable  fluid,  the  second  to  an  agency  better 
represented  probably  by  the  idea  of  two  fluids,  or  at  least 
by  two  forces; — the  first  involves  no  polar  action,  nor  any 
of  its  consequences;  the  second  depends  essentially  on  such 
action; — with  the  first,  if  a  certain  portion  be  originally  em- 
ployed in  the  centre  of  a  spherical  arrangement,  but  a  small 
part  appears  ultimately  at  the  surface;  with  the  second,  an 
amount  of  force  appears  instantly  at  the  surface,  (viii,  ix, 
x,  xi,  xii,  xiii,  xiv,)  exactly  equal  to  the  exciting  or  moving 
force  which  is  still  at  the  centre. 

xxvi.  Par.  2,  page  4,  involves  another  charge  of  self-con- 
tradiction, from  which  therefore  I  will  next  endeavor  to  set 
myself  free.  You  say  I  "  correctly  allege  that  it  is  impos- 
sible to  charge  a  portion  of  matter  with  one  electric  force 
without  the  other,  (see  par.  1177).  But  if  all  this  be  true 
how  can  there  be  a  positively  excited  particle?  (See  par. 
1616).  Must  not  every  particle  be  excited  negatively  if  it 
be  excited  positively?  Must  it  not  have  a  negative  as  well 


402  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

as  a  positive  pole?  "  Now  I  have  not  said  exactly  what  you 
attribute  to  me:  my  words  are,  "it  is  impossible  experi- 
mentally to  charge  a  portion  of  matter  with  one  electric  force 
independently  of  the  other.  Charge  always  implies  induction, 
for  it  can  in  no  instance  be  effected  without."  (1177) .  I  can 
however  easily  perceive  how  my  words  have  conveyed  a  very 
different  meaning  to  your  mind,  and  probably  to  others,  than 
that  I  meant  to  express. 

xxvii.  Using  the  word  charge  in  its  simplest  meaning, 
(iii,  iv,)  I  think  that  a  body  can  be  charged  with  one  electric 
force  without  the  other,  that  body  being  considered  in  relation 
to  itself  only.  But  I  think  that  such  charge  cannot  exist 
without  induction,  (1178)  or  independently  of  what  is  called 
the  development  of  an  equal  amount  of  the  other  electric 
force,  not  in  itself,  but  in  the  neighboring  consecutive  par- 
ticles of  the  surrounding  dielectric,  and  through  them  of  the 
facing  particles  of  the  uninsulated  surrounding  conducting 
bodies ;  which,  under  the  circumstances  terminate,  as  it  were, 
the  particular  case  of  induction.  I  have  no  idea,  therefore, 
that  a  particle  when  charged  must  itself,  of  necessity,  be 
polar;  .  .  . 

xxviii.  The  third  paragraph  of  page  6,  includes  the  ques- 
tion, "  is  this  consistent?  "  implying  self-contradiction,  which 
therefore  I  proceed  to  notice.  The  question  arises  out  of 
the  possibility  of  glass  being  a  (slow)  conductor  or  not  of 
electricity ;  a  point  questioned  also  in  the  two  preceding  para- 
graphs. I  believe  that  it  is.  I  have  charged  small  Leyden 
jars,  made  of  thin  flint  glass  tube,  with  electricity,  taken  out 
the  charging  wires,  sealed  them  up  hermetically,  and  after 
two  or  three  years  have  opened  and  found  no  charge  in 
them.  .  .  . 

xxxi.  The  obscurity  in  my  papers  which  has  led  to  your 
remarks  in  par.  1,  page  8,  arises,  as  it  appears  to  me  (after 
my  own  imperfect  expression,)  from  the  uncertain  or  double 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  403 

meaning  of  the  word  discharge.  You  say,  "  if  discharge  in- 
volves a  return  to  the  same  state  in  vitreous  particles,  the 
same  must  be  true  in  those  of  the  metallic  wire;  wherefore 
then  are  these  dissipated  when  the  discharge  is  sufficiently 
powerful?  "  A  jar  is  said  to  be  discharged  when  its  charged 
state  is  reduced  by  any  means,  and  it  is  found  in  its  first  in- 
different condition;  the  word  is  then  used  simply  to  express 
the  state  of  the  apparatus,  and  so  I  have  used  it  in  the  ex- 
pressions criticised  in  par.  4  of  page  6  already  referred  to. 
The  process  of  discharge,  or  the  mode  by  which  the  jar  is 
brought  into  the  discharged  state,  may  be  subdivided  as  of 
various  kinds;  and  I  have  spoken  of  conductive  (1320) ,  elec- 
trolytic (1343),  disruptive  (1359),  and  convective  (1562) 
discharge;  .  .  .  My  view  of  the  relation  of  insulators 
and  conductors,  as  bodies  of  one  class,  is  given  at  1320,  1675, 
&c.,  of  the  researches ;  but  I  do  not  think  the  particles  of  the 
good  conductors  acquire  an  intensity  of  polarization  any- 
thing like  that  of  the  particles  of  bad  conductors.  .  .  . 
The  question  of,  why  are  the  metallic  particles  dissipated 
when  the  charge  is  sufficiently  powerful — is  one  that  my 
theory  is  not  called  upon  at  present  to  answer;  since  it  will 
be  acknowledged  by  all  that  the  dissipation  is  not  necessary 
to  discharge ;  that  different  effects  ensue  upon  the  subjection 
of  bodies  to  different  degrees  of  the  same  power  is  common 
enough  in  experimental  philosophy ;  thus  one  degree  of  heat 
will  merely  make  water  hot  whilst  a  higher  will  dissipate  it  as 
steam  and  a  lower  will  convert  it  into  ice. 

xxxii.  The  next  most  important  point,  as  it  appears  to 
me,  is  that  contained  in  the  third  and  fourth  paragraphs  of 
page  5.  I  have  said  (1330),  "What,  then,  is  to  separate 
the  principle  of  these  two  extremes,  perfect  conduction  and 
perfect  insulation,  from  each  other;  since  the  moment  we 
leave  in  the  smallest  degree  perfection  at  the  opposite  end?  " 
and  upon  this  you  say,  might  not  this  query  be  made  with 


404  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

as  much  reason  in  the  case  of  motion  and  rest? — and,  in  any 
case  of  the  intermixture  of  opposite  qualities  may  it  not  be 
said,  the  moment  we  leave  the  element  of  perfection  at  one 
end,  we  involve  the  element  of  perfection  at  the  opposite? 
may  it  not  be  said  of  light  and  darkness,  or  of  opaqueness  and 
translucency?  and  so  forth. 

xxxiii.  I  admit  that  these  questions  are  very  properly 
put,  not  that  I  go  to  the  full  extent  of  them  all,  as  for  in- 
stance that  of  motion  and  rest,  but  I  do  not  perceive  their 
bearing  upon  the  question  of  whether  conduction  and  insula- 
tion are  different  properties  dependent  upon  two  different 
modes  of  action  of  the  particles  of  the  substances,  respectively 
possessing  these  actions ;  or  whether  they  are  only  differences 
in  degree  of  one  and  the  same  mode  of  action?  In  this  ques- 
tion, however,  lies  the  whole  gist  of  the  matter.  To  explain 
my  views,  I  will  put  a  case  or  two.  In  former  times  a  prin- 
ciple or  force  of  levity  was  admitted  as  well  as  of  gravity,  and 
certain  variations  in  the  weights  of  bodies  were  supposed  to 
be  caused  by  different  combinations  of  substances  possessing 
these  two  principles.  In  later  times  the  levity  principle  has 
been  discarded;  and  though  we  still  have  imponderable  sub- 
stances, yet  the  phenomena  concerning  weight  have  been  ac- 
counted for  by  one  force  or  principle  only,  that  of  gravity; 
the  difference  in  the  gravitation  of  different  bodies  being 
considered  due  to  differences  in  degree  of  this  one  force  resi- 
dent in  them  all.  Now  no  one  can  for  a  moment  suppose 
that  it  is  the  same  thing,  philosophically,  to  assume  either 
the  two  forces  or  the  one  force,  for  the  explanation  of  the 
phenomena  in  question. 

xxxiv.  Again; — at  one  time  there  was  a  distinction  taken 
between  the  principle  of  heat  and  that  of  cold;  at  present 
that  theory  is  done  away  with  and  the  phenomena  of  heat  and 
cold  are  referred  to  the  same  class  (as  I  refer  those  of  insula- 
tion and  conduction  to  one  class)  and  to  the  influence  of 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  405 

different  degrees  of  the  same  power.  But  no  one  can  say 
that  the  two  theories,  namely,  that  including  hut  one  positive 
principle  and  that  including  two,  are  alike. 

xxxv.  Again,  there  is  the  theory  of  one  electric  fluid  and 
also  that  of  two.  One  explains  by  the  difference  in  degree 
or  quantity  of  one  fluid  what  the  other  attributes  to  the  varia- 
tion in  the  quantity  and  relation  of  two  fluids.  Both  cannot 
be  true;  that  they  have  nearly  equal  hold  of  our  assent  is 
only  a  proof  of  our  ignorance;  and  it  is  certain,  whichever 
is  the  false  theory  is  at  present  holding  the  minds  of  its  sup- 
porters in  bondage  and  is  greatly  retarding  the  progress  of 
science.  .  .  . 

xxxvii.  I  now  come  to  what  may  be  considered  as  queries 
in  your  letter,  which  I  ought  to  answer.  The  second  para- 
graph page  b  is  one.  As  I  concede  that  particles  on  op- 
posite sides  of  a  vacuum  may  perhaps  act  on  each  other,  you 
ask  "wherefore  is  the  received  theory  of  the  mode  in  which  the 
excited  surface  of  a  Leyden  jar  induces  in  the  opposite  sur- 
face a  contrary  state,  ob j  ectionable  ?  "  My  reasons  for  think- 
ing the  excited  surface  does  not  directly  induce  upon  the 
opposite  surface,  &e.,  is  first,  my  belief  that  the  glass  con- 
sists of  particles,  conductors  in  themselves  but  insulated  as  re- 
spects each  other  (xvii) ;  and  next  that  in  the  arrangement 
given  iv,  ix  or  x,  A  does  not  induce  directly  on  C  but  through 
the  intermediate  masses  or  particles  of  conducting  matter. 

xxxviii.  In  the  next  paragraph  the  question  is  rather  im- 
plied than  asked,  what  do  I  mean  by  polarity?  I  had  hoped 
that  the  paragraphs  1669, 1670,  1671, 1672,  1679, 1686, 1687, 
1688,  1699,  1700,  1701,  1702,  1703,  1704,  in  the  researches 
would  have  been  sufficient  to  convey  my  meaning,  and  I  am 
inclined  to  think  you  had  not  perhaps  seen  them  when  your 
letter  was  written.  They,  and  the  observations  already  made 
(v,  xxvi),  with  the  case  given  (iv,  v),  will  I  think  be  suffi- 
cient as  my  answer.  The  sense  of  the  word  polarity  is  so 


406  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

diverse  when  applied  to  light,  to  a  crystal,  to  a  magnet,  to  the 
voltaic  battery,  and  so  different  in  all  these  cases  to  that  of 
the  word  when  applied  to  the  state  of  a  conductor  under  in- 
duction ( v) ,  that  I  thought  it  safer  to  use  the  phrase  "  species 
of  polarity  "  than  any  other  which,  being  more  expressive, 
would  pledge  me  farther  than  I  wished  to  go. 

xxxix.  The  next  or  fourth  par.  of  page  3,  involves  a  mis- 
take of  my  views.  I  do  not  consider  bodies  which  are  charged 
by  friction  or  otherwise  as  polarized,  or  as  having  their  par- 
ticles polarized  (iii,  iv,  xxvii) .  This  paragraph  and  the  next 
do  not  require  therefore  any  further  remark,  especially  after 
what  I  have  said  of  polarity  above  (xxxviii). 

xl.  And  now,  my  dear  sir,  I  think  I  ought  to  draw  my 
reply  to  an  end.  The  paragraphs  which  remain  unanswered, 
refer,  I  think,  only  to  differences  of  opinion,  or  else  not  even 
to  differences,  but  opinions  regarding  which  I  have  not  ven- 
tured to  judge.  These  opinions  I  esteem  as  of  the  utmost 
importance ;  but  that  is  a  reason  which  makes  me  the  rather 
desirous  to  decline  entering  upon  their  consideration;  inas- 
much as  upon  many  of  their  connected  points  I  have  formed 
no  decided  notion,  but  am  constrained  by  ignorance  and  the 
contrast  of  facts,  to  hold  my  judgment  as  yet  in  suspense. 
It  is  indeed  to  me  an  annoying  matter  to  find  how  many 
subjects  there  are  in  electrical  science,  on  which  if  I  were 
asked  for  an  opinion,  I  should  have  to  say  I  cannot  tell — I 
do  not  know;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  encouraging  to 
think  that  these  are  they  which  if  pursued  industriously,  ex- 
perimentally, and  thoughtfully,  will  lead  to  new  discoveries. 
Such  a  subject,  for  instance,  occurs  in  the  currents  produced 
by  dynamic  induction,  which  you  say  it  will  be  admitted  do 
not  require  for  their  production  intervening  ponderable 
atoms.  For  my  own  part,  I  more  than  half  incline  to  think 
they  do  require  these  intervening  particles,  i.e.  when  any 
particles  intervene,  (1729,  1733,  1735.)  But  on  this  ques- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  407 

tion,  as  on  many  others,  I  have  not  yet  made  up  my  mind. 
Allow  me  therefore  here  to  conclude  my  letter,  and  believe 
me  to  be,  with  the  highest  esteem  and  respect,  my  dear  sir, 
your  obliged  and  faithful  servant, 

Royal  Institution,  M.  FARADAY." 

April  18,  1840." 

In  a  second  letter  (1845)  Hare  wrote  as  follows  to 
Faraday: 

"  My  dear  Sir- 
In  the  month  of  July  last  I  had  the  pleasure  to  read,  in 
the  American  Journal  of  Science,  your  letter  in  reply  to  one 
which  I  had  addressed  to  you  through  the  same  channel.  I 
should  sooner  have  noticed  this  letter,  but  that  meanwhile  I 
have  had  to  republish  two  of  my  text-books,  and,  besides, 
could  not  command,  until  lately,  a  complete  copy  of  all  those 
numbers  of  your  researches  to  which  you  have  referred. 

The  tenor  of  the  language  with  which  your  letter  com- 
mences realizes  the  hope,  which  I  cherished,  that  my  strictures 
would  call  forth  an  amicable  reply.  Under  these  circum- 
stances it  would  grieve  me  that  you  should  consider  any  part 
of  my  language  as  charging  you  with  inconsistency  or  self- 
contradiction,  as  if  it  could  be  my  object  to  put  you  in  the 
wrong,  farther  than  might  be  necessary  to  establish  my  con- 
ception of  the  truth.  Certainly  it  has  been  my  wish  never  to 
go  beyond  the  sentiment,  "Amicus  Plato,  sed  magis  arnica 
veritas."  I  attach  high  importance  to  the  facts  established 
by  your  ff  Researches"  which  can  only  be  appreciated  suffi- 
ciently by  those  who  have  experienced  the  labor,  corporeal 
and  mental,  which  experimental  investigations  require.  I 
am  moreover  grateful  for  the  disposition  to  do  me  justice, 
manifested  in  those  researches;  yet  it  may  not  always  be 
possible  for  me  to  display  the  deference,  which  I  nevertheless 
entertain.  I  am  aware  that  when  in  a  discussion,  which  due 


408  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

attention  to  brevity  must  render  unceremonious,  diversities 
of  opinion  are  exhibited,  much  magnanimity  is  requisite  in 
the  party  whose  opinions  are  assailed;  but  I  trust  that  both 
of  us  have  truth  in  view  above  all  other  objects;  and  that  so 
much  of  your  new  doctrine  as  tends  to  promote  that  end,  will 
not  be  invalidated  by  a  criticism  which,  though  free,  is  in- 
tended to  be  perfectly  fair  and  friendly. 

In  paragraph  (11)  your  language  is  as  follows,  "  my 
theory  of  induction  makes  no  assertion  as  to  the  nature  of  elec- 
tricity, nor  at  all  questions  any  of  the  theories  respecting  that 
subject."  Owing  to  this  avowed  omission  to  state  your 
opinions  of  the  nature  of  electricity  as  preliminary  to  the 
statement  of  your  "  theory"  and  because  I  was  unable  to 
reconcile  that  theory  with  those  previously  accredited,  I  re- 
ceived the  impression  that  you  claimed  no  aid  from  any  im- 
ponderable principle.  It  appeared  to  me  that  there  was  no 
room  for  the  agency  of  any  such  principle,  if  induction  were 
an  action  of  contiguous  ponderable  particles,  consisting  of  a 
species  of  polarity.  It  seemed  to  follow,  that  what  we  call 
electricity,  could  be  nothing  more  than  a  polarity,  in  the 
ponderable  particles,  directly  caused  by  those  mechanical  or 
chemical  frictions,  movements,  or  reactions  by  which  ponder- 
able bodies  are  electrified.  You  have  correctly  inferred  that 
I  had  not  seen  the  fourteenth  series  of  your  researches,  con- 
taining certain  paragraphs.  From  them  it  appears  that  the 
polarity,  on  which  so  much  stress  has  been  laid,  is  analogous 
to  that  which  has  long  been  known  to  arise  in  a  mass,  about 
which  the  electric  equilibrium  has  been  subverted,  by  the  in- 
ductive influence  of  the  electricity  accumulated  upon  another 
mass.  This  is  clearly  explained  in  paragraph  iv  of  your  letter, 
by  the  illustration,  agreeably  to  which  three  bodies,  a,  b,  c, 
are  situated  in  a  line,  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  named, 
in  proximity,  but  not  in  contact.  "A  is  electrified  positively 
and  then  C  is  uninsulated."  It  is  evident  that  you  are  correct 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  409 

in  representing  that  under  these  circumstances  the  extrem- 
ities of  B  will  be  oppositely  excited,  so  as  to  have  a  reaction 
with  any  similarly  excited  body,  analogous  to  that  which 
takes  place  between  magnets;  since  the  similarly  ex- 
cited extremities  of  two  such  bodies,  would  repel  each  other; 
while  those  dissimilarly  excited,  would  be  reciprocally  attract- 
ive. Hence  no  doubt  the  word  polarity  is  conceived  by  you 
to  convey  an  idea  of  the  state  of  the  body  B.  If  I  may  be 
allowed  to  propose  an  epithet  to  convey  the  idea  which  I  have 
of  the  state  of  mass  thus  electrified,  I  would  designate  it  as 
an  electropolar  state,  or  as  a  state  of  electropolarity. 

It  does  not  appear  to  me  that  in  the  suggestion  of  the 
electropolarity  which  we  both  agree  to  be  induced  upon  the 
body  B  (iv),  so  long  as  it  concerns  a  mass,  there  is  any 
novelty.  The  only  part  of  your  doctrine  which  is  new,  is 
that  which  suggests  an  analogous  state  to  be  caused  in  the 
particles  of  the  bodies  through  which  the  inductive  power  is 
propagated.  Admitting  each  of  the  particles  of  a  dielectric, 
through  which  the  process  of  ordinary  induction  takes  place, 
to  be  put  into  the  state  of  the  body  B,  it  does  not  appear  to 
me  to  justify  your  own  exemplification  of  that  process,  you 
should  have  alleged  ordinary  induction  to  be  productive  of 
an  affection  of  particles  causing  in  them  a  species  of  polarity. 
In  the  case  of  the  bodies,  A,  B,  C,  (iv)  B  is  evidently  passive. 
How  then  can  we  consider  as  active,  particles  represented  to 
be  in  an  analogous  state?  If  in  B  there  is  no  action,  how  can 
there  be  any  action  in  particles  performing  a  perfectly  similar 
part?  Moreover,  how  can  the  inductive  power  of  an  elec- 
trical accumulation  upon  A,  consist  of  the  polarity  which  it 
induces  in  B  ? 

Having  supposed  (viii,)  an  electrified  ball,  A,  an  inch  in 
diameter,  to  be  situated  within  a  thin  metallic  sphere,  C,  of  a 
foot  in  diameter,  you  suggest  that  were  one  thousand  con- 
centric metallic  spheres  interposed  between  A,  and  the  inner 


410  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

surface  of  C,  the  electro-polar  state  of  each  particle  in  those 
spheres  would  be  analogous  to  that  of  B  already  mentioned. 
Of  course  if  there  be  an  action  of  those  particles,  there  must 
be  an  action  of  B ;  but  this  appears  to  me  not  only  irreconcil- 
able with  any  previously  existing  theory,  but  also  with  your 
own  exposition  of  the  process  by  which  B  is  polarized. 

Supposing  concentric  metallic  hemispheres  were  inter- 
posed only  upon  one  side  of  A,  you  aver  that  agreeably  to 
your  experience,  more  of  the  inductive  influence  would  be 
extended  towards  that  side  of  the  containing  shell  than  be- 
fore (xiv. )  Admitting  this,  I  cannot  concede  that  the  greater 
influence  of  the  induction,  resulting  from  the  presence  of  the 
metallic  particles,  is  the  consequence  of  any  action  of  theirs ; 
whether  in  contiguity  or  in  proocimity.  Agreeably  to  my 
view,  the  action  is  confined  to  the  electrical  accumulation  in 
the  sphere  A.  Between  the  electricity  accumulated  in  this 
sphere,  and  that  existing  in,  or  about,  the  intervening  ponder- 
able particles,  there  may  be  a  reaction;  but  evidently  these 
particles  are  as  inactive  as  are  the  steps  of  a  ladder  in  the 
scaling  of  a  wall. 

Suppose  a  powerful  magnet  to  be  so  curved  as  to  have 
the  terminating  polar  surfaces  parallel,  and  leaving  between 
them  an  interval  of  some  inches.  Place  between  these  sur- 
faces, a  number  of  short  pieces  of  soft  iron  wire.  These 
would  of  course  be  magnetized,  and  would  arrange  them- 
selves in  rows,  the  north  and  south  poles  becoming  contiguous. 
Would  this  be  a  sufficient  reason  for  saying  that  the  in- 
ductive influence  of  the  magnetic  poles  was  an  action  of  the 
contiguous  wires?  Would  not  the  phenomena  be  the  con- 
sequence of  an  affection  of  the  contiguous  pieces  of  wire,  not 
of  their  action? 

As  respects  the  word  charge,  I  am  not  aware  that  I  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  attaching  any  erroneous  meaning  to  it, 
as  your  efforts  to  define  it  in  paragraph  iii  would  imply.  I 


<t 


MEDALLION  PORTRAIT 
By  H.  Saunders,  1856,  Philadelphia 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  411 

have  been  accustomed  to  restrict  the  use  of  it  to  the  case  which 
you  distinguish  as  an  inductive  charge,  illustrated  by  that  of 
the  Leyden  jar.  To  designate  the  states  of  the  conductors 
of  a  machine,  I  have  almost  always  employed  the  words 
excited  or  excitement.  In  my  text-book,  these  words  are 
used  to  designate  the  state  of  glass  or  resin  electrified  by 
friction,  while  that  of  coated  surfaces,  whether  panes  or  jars, 
inductively  electrified,  has  been  designated  by  the  words 
charge  or  charge?. 

I  understood  the  word  contiguous  to  imply  contact,  or  con- 
tiguity, whereas  it  seems  that  it  was  intended  by  you  to  con- 
vey the  idea  of  proximity.  In  the  last  mentioned  sense  it  is 
not  inconsistent  with  the  idea  of  an  action  at  the  distance  of 
half  an  inch:  but  by  admitting  the  word  contiguous  to  be  ill 
chosen,  you  have,  with  great  candor,  furnished  me  with  an 
apology  for  having  mistaken  your  meaning. 

Any  inductive  action  which  does  not  exist  at  sensible  dis- 
tances, (xx)  you  attribute  to  ordinary  induction,  considering 
the  case  of  induction  through  a  vacuum  as  an  extraordinary 
case  of  induction.  To  me  it  appears  that  the  induction  must 
be  the  same  in  both  cases,  and  that  the  circumstances  under 
which  it  acts,  are  those  which  may  be  considered  in  the  one 
case  as  ordinary,  in  the  other  extraordinary.  Thus,  take  the 
case  cited  in  your  reply  (viii,  ix,  x).  Does  the  interposition 
of  the  spheres  alter  the  character  of  the  inductive  power  in 
the  sphere  A? 

Either  the  force  exercised  by  the  charge  in  A,  is  like  that 
of  gravitation,  altogether  independent  of  the  influence  of 
intervening  bodies;  or,  like  that  of  light,  it  is  dependent  on 
the  agency  of  an  intervening  matter.  Agreeably  to  one  doc- 
trine, the  matter  by  means  of  which  luminous  bodies  act,  oper- 
ates by  its  transmission  from  the  luminous  surface  to  that 
illumined.  Agreeably  to  another  doctrine,  the  illuminating 
matter  operates  by  its  transmission  from  the  luminous  sur- 


412  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

face  to  that  illumined.  Agreeably  to  another  doctrine,  the 
illuminating  matter  operates  by  its  undulations.  If  the  in- 
ductive power  of  electrified  bodies  be  not  analogous  to  gravi- 
tation, it  must  be  analogous  to  the  power  by  which  light  is 
produced  so  far  as  to  be  dependent  on  intervening  matter. 
But  were  it  to  resemble  gravitation,  like  that  force  it  would 
be  uninfluenced  by  such  matter.  If  your  experiments  prove 
that  electrical  induction  is  liable  to  be  modified  by  interven- 
ing matter,  it  is  demonstrated  that  in  its  mode  of  operation 
it  is  analogous  to  light,  not  to  gravitation.  It  is  then  proved, 
that,  agreeably  to  your  doctrine,  electrical  induction  requires 
the  intervention  of  matter,  but  you  admit  that  it  acts  across 
a  vacuum,  and  of  course,  acts  without  the  presence  of  ponder- 
able matter.  Yet  it  requires  intervening  matter  of  some  kind, 
and,  since  that  matter  is  not  ponderable,  it  must  of  necessity 
be  imponderable.  When  light  is  communicated  from  a  lumi- 
nous body  in  the  centre  of  an  exhausted  sphere,  agreeably 
to  the  undulatory  hypothesis,  its  efficacy  is  dependent  on  the 
waves  excited  in  an  intervening  imponderable  medium. 
Agreeably  to  your  electropolar  hypothesis,  the  inductive  effi- 
cacy of  an  electrified  body  in  an  exhausted  sphere  would  be 
due  to  a  derangement  of  electric  equilibrium,  by  which  an 
electric  state  opposite  to  that  at  the  centre  would  be  pro- 
duced at  the  surface  of  the  containing  sphere  (xxvi,  xxvii). 
This  case  you  consider  as  one  of  extraordinary  induction,  but 
when  air  is  admitted  into  a  hollow  sphere,  or  when  concentric 
spheres  are  interposed,  you  hold  it  to  be  a  case  of  ordinary 
induction.  Let  us  then,  in  the  case  of  the  luminous  body, 
imagine  that  concentric  spheres  of  glass  are  interposed,  of 
which  the  surfaces  are  roughened  by  grinding.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  roughness  thus  produced,  the  rays  instead  of 
proceeding  in  radii  from  the  central  ball  would  be  so  re- 
fracted as  to  cross  each  other.  Of  the  two  instances  of  illumi- 
nation, thus  imagined,  would  the  one  be  described  as  ordinary. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  413 

the  other  as  extraordinary  radiation?  But  if  these  epithets 
are  not  to  be  applied  to  radiation,  wherefore  under  analogous 
circumstances  are  they  applicable  to  induction?  Wherefore 
is  induction  when  acting  through  a  plenum  to  be  called  or- 
dinary, and  yet  when  acting  through  a  vacuum  to  be  called 
extraordinary?  In  the  well  known  case  of  the  refracting 
power  of  Iceland  spar,  light  undergoes  an  ordinary  and  ex- 
traordinary refraction;  not  an  ordinary  and  extraordinary 
radiation.  The  candle,  of  which,  when  viewed  through  the 
spar,  two  images  are  seen,  does  not  radiate  ordinarily  and 
extraordinarily. 

If  there  be  occasionally,  as  you  allege  (xxi,)  large  inter- 
vals between  the  particles  of  radiant  heat,  how  can  the  dis- 
tances between  them  resemble  those  existing  between  particles 
acting  at  distances  which  are  not  sensible?  The  repulsive 
reaction  between  the  particles  of  radiant  caloric,  as  described 
by  you  (xxi),  resembles  that  which  I  have  supposed  to  exist 
between  those  of  electricity;  but  I  cannot  conceive  of  any 
description  less  suitable  for  either,  than  that  of  particles 
which  do  not  act  at  sensible  distances. 

Aware  that  the  materiality  of  heat,  and  the  Newtonian 
theory,  which  ascribes  radiation  to  the  projection  of  heat  or 
light  producing  particles,  have  been  questioned,  I  should 
not  have  appealed  to  a  doctrine  which  assumes  both  the  ma- 
teriality of  heat,  and  the  truth  of  the  Newtonian  theory,  had 
not  you  led  the  way;  but,  agreeably  to  the  doctrine  and 
theory  alluded  to,  I  cannot  accord  with  you  in  perceiving  any 
similitude  between  the  processes  of  conduction  and  radiation. 

Consistently  with  the  hypothesis  that  electricity  is  ma- 
terial, you  have  shewn  that  an  enormous  quantity  of  it  must 
exist  in  metals.  To  me  it  seems  equally  evident  that,  agree- 
ably to  the  idea  that  heat  is  material,  there  must  exist  in 
metals  a  proportionably  great  quantity  of  caloric.  The  in- 
tense heat  produced  when  wires  are  deflagrated  by  an  elec- 


414  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

trical  discharge,  cannot  otherwise  be  consistently  accounted 
for.  Agreeably  to  the  same  idea,  every  metallic  particle  in 
any  metallic  mass,  must  be  surrounded  by  an  atmosphere  of 
caloric;  since  the  changes  of  dimension  consequent  to  varia- 
tions of  temperature,  can  only  be  explained  by  corresponding 
variations  in  the  quantity  of  caloric  imbibed,  and  in  the  con- 
sequent density  of  the  calorific  atmospheres  existing  in  the 
mass  which  undergoes  these  changes. 

Such  being  the  constitution  of  expansible  bodies,  agree- 
ably to  the  hypothesis  in  question,  it  seems  to  me  that  the 
process,  by  which  caloric  is  propagated  through  them  by 
conduction,  must  be  extremely  different  from  that  by  which 
it  is  transmitted  from  one  part  of  space  to  another  by  radia- 
tion. In  the  one  case  the  calorific  particle  flies,  like  a  can- 
non ball,  with  an  inconceivably  greater  velocity,  which  is  not 
sensibly  retarded  by  the  reflecting  or  refracting  influence  of 
intervening  transparent  media:  in  the  other  case  it  must  be 
slowly  imparted  from  one  calorific  atmosphere  to  another, 
until  the  repulsion  sustained  on  all  sides  is 'in  equilibria.  It 
is  in  this  way  that  I  have  always  explained  the  fact  that 
metals  are  bad  radiators,  while  good  reflectors. 

In  paragraph  (xxv,)  you  allege  that  conduction  of  heat 
differs  from  electrical  induction,  because  it  passes  by  a  very 
slow  process;  while  induction  is  in  its  distant  influence  simul- 
taneous with  its  force  at  the  place  of  action.  How  then 
can  the  passage  of  heat  by  conduction,  be  "  a  process  pre- 
cisely like  that  of  radiation,"  (xxi,)  which  resembles  induc- 
tion in  the  velocity  with  which  its  influence  reaches  objects, 
however  remote? 

Although  (xxi)  you  appeal  to  the  "  modern  views  re- 
specting radiation  and  conduction  of  heat,"  in  order  to  illus- 
trate your  conception  of  the  contiguity  of  the  particles  of 
bodies  subjected  to  induction,  yet  in  (xxv,)  you  object  to 
the  reference  which  I  had  made  to  these  views,  in  order  to 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  415 

shew  that  the  intensity  of  electropolarization  could  not  be 
inversely  as  the  number  of  particles  interposed  between  the 
"  inductric  "  surfaces.  Let  us  then  resort  to  that  above 
suggested,  of  the  influence  of  the  poles  of  a  magnet  upon 
intervening  pieces  of  iron  wires.  In  1679,  14th  series,  you 
suggest  this  as  an  analogous  case  to  that  of  the  process  of 
ordinary  electrical  induction,  which  we  have  under  considera- 
tion. Should  there  be  in  the  one  case  a  thousand  pieces  of 
wire  interposed,  in  the  second  a  hundred,  will  it  be  pretended 
that  the  intensity  of  their  reciprocal  inductive  reaction  would 
be  inversely  as  the  number;  so  that  the  effect  of  the  last 
mentioned  number  of  wires  would  be  equivalent  to  that  of 
the  first?  Were  intervals  to  be  created  between  the  wires 
by  removing,  from  among  the  number  first  mentioned,  alter- 
nate wires,  it  would  seem  to  me  that  the  diminution  of  effect 
would  be  commensurate  not  only  with  the  reduction  of  the 
number  of  the  wires,  but  likewise  with  the  consequent  enlarge- 
ment of  the  intervals. 

If  as  you  suggest,  the  interposition  of  ponderable  par- 
ticles have  any  tendency  to  promote  inductive  influence,  (xiv,) 
there  must  be  some  number  of  such  particles  by  which  this 
effect  will  be  best  attained.  That  number  being  inter- 
posed, I  cannot  imagine  how  the  intensity  of  any  electro- 
polarity,  thus  created  in  the  intervening  particles,  can,  by 
a  diminution  of  their  number,  acquire  a  proportional  increase; 
evidently  in  no  case  can  the  excitement  in  the  particles  ex- 
ceed that  of  the  "  inductric  "  surfaces  whence  the  derange- 
ment of  electrical  equilibrium  arises. 

The  repulsive  power  of  electricity  being  admitted  to  be 
inversely  as  the  squares  of  the  distances,  you  correctly  infer 
that  the  aggregate  influence  of  an  electrified  ball,  B,  situ- 
ated at  the  centre  of  a  hollow  sphere,  C,  will  be  a  constant 
quantity,  whatever  may  be  the  diameter  of  C.  This  is  per- 
fectly analogous  to  the  illuminating  influence  of  a  luminous 


416  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

body  situated  at  the  centre  of  a  hollow  sphere,  which  would 
of  course  receive  the  whole  of  the  light  emitted  whatever 
might  be  its  diameter,  provided  that  there  were  nothing 
interposed  to  intercept  any  portion  of  the  rays.  But  in 
order  to  answer  the  objection  which  I  have  advanced,  that 
the  diminution  of  the  density  of  a  "  dielectric  "  cannot  be 
compensated  by  any  consequent  increase  of  inductive  in- 
tensity, it  must  be  shown  in  the  case  of  several  similar  hollow 
spheres,  in  which  various  numbers  of  electrified  equidistant 
balls  should  exist,  that  the  influence  of  such  balls  upon  each 
other,  and  upon  the  surfaces  of  the  spheres,  would  not  be 
directly  as  the  number  of  the  balls,  and  inversely  as  the  size 
of  the  containing  spaces.  Were  gas  lights  substituted  for 
the  balls,  it  must  be  evident  that  the  intensity  of  the  light, 
in  any  one  of  the  spheres,  would  be  as  the  number  of  lights 
which  it  might  coritain.  Now  one  of  your  illustrations 
(viii,)  above  noticed  makes  light  and  electrical  induction, 
obey  the  same  law  as  respects  the  influence  of  distance  upon 
the  respective  intensities. 

From  these  considerations,  and  others  above  stated,  I 
infer,  that  if  electrical  induction  were  an  action  of  particles 
in  proximity  operating  reciprocally  with  forces  varying  in 
intensity  with  the  squares  of  the  distances,  their  aggregate 
influence  upon  any  surfaces,  between  which  they  might  be 
situated,  would  be  proportionable  to  their  number;  and  since 
experience  demonstrates  that  the  inductive  power  is  not 
diminished  by  the  reduction  of  the  number  of  the  intervening 
particles  I  conclude  that  it  is  independent  of  any  energy  of 
theirs,  and  proceeds  altogether  from  that  electrical  accumula- 
tion with  which  the  inductive  change  is  admitted  to  originate. 

In  paragraph  (xxxi,)  you  say  "  that  at  one  time  there 
was  a  distinction  between  heat  and  cold.  At  present  that 
theory  is  done  away  with,  and  the  phenomena  of  heat  and 
cold  are  referred  to  the  same  class,  and  to  different  degrees 
of  the  same  power." 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  417 

In  reply  to  this  I  beg  leave  to  point  out,  that  although, 
in  ordinary  acceptation,  cold  refers  to  relatively  low  tempera- 
ture; yet  we  all  understand  that  there  might  be  that  perfect 
negation  of  heat,  or  abstraction  of  caloric,  which  may  be 
defined  absolute  cold.  I  presume  that,  having  thus  defined 
absolute  cold,  you  would  not  represent  it  as  identical  with 
caloric.  For  my  own  part  this  would  seem  as  unreasonable 
as  to  confound  matter  with  nihility. 

Assuming  that  there  is  only  one  electric  fluid,  there  ap- 
pears to  me  to  be  an  analogy  between  caloric  and  electricity, 
so  far  that  negative  electricity  conveys,  in  the  one  case,  an 
idea  analogous  to  that  which  cold  conveys  in  the  other. 
But  if  the  doctrine  of  Du  Fay  be  admitted,  there  are  two 
kinds  of  electric  matter,  which  are  no  more  to  be  confounded 
than  an  acid  and  an  alkali.  Let  us,  upon  these  premises, 
subject  to  further  examination  your  argument  (1330,)  that 
insulation  and  conduction  should  be  identified,  "since  the 
moment  we  leave  in  the  smallest  degree  perfection  at  either 
extremity,  we  involve  the  element  of  perfection  at  the  op- 
posite end/'  Let  us  suppose  two  remote  portions  of  space, 
one,  replete  with  pure  vitreous  electricity,  the  other  with  pure 
resinous:  let  there  be  a  series  of  like  spaces  containing  the 
resinous  and  vitreous  electricities  in  as  many  different  vari- 
eties of  admixture,  so  that  in  passing  from  one  of  the  first 
mentioned  spaces,  through  the  series  to  the  other,  as  soon  as 
we  should  cease  to  be  exposed  to  the  vitreous  fluid,  in  perfect 
purity,  we  should  begin  to  be  exposed  minutely  to  the  resin- 
ous ;  or  that,  in  passing  from  the  purely  resinous  atmosphere, 
we  should  begin  to  be  exposed  to  a  minute  portion  of  the 
vitreous  fluid ;  would  this  be  a  sufficient  reason  for  confound- 
ing the  two  fluids,  and  treating  the  phenomena  to  which  they 
give  rise  as  the  effect  of  one  only? 

But  the  discussion,  into  which  your  illustrations  have 
led  me,  refers  to  things,  whereas  conductors  and  insulation, 

27 


418  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

as  I  understand  them,  are  opposite  and  incompatible  prop- 
erties, so  that,  in  as  much  as  either  prevails,  the  other  must 
be  counteracted.  Conduction  conveys  to  my  mind  the  idea 
of  permeability  to  the  electric  fluid,  insulation  that  of  im- 
permeability; and  I  am  unable  to  understand  how  these  irre- 
concilable properties  can  be  produced  by  a  difference  of 
degree  in  any  one  property  of  electrics  and  conductors. 

If,  as  you  infer,  glass  has,  comparatively  with  metals, 
an  almost  infinitely  minute  degree  of  the  conducting  power, 
is  it  this  power  which  enables  it  to  prevent  conduction,  or 
in  other  words  to  insulate?  Let  it  be  granted  that  you  have 
correctly  supposed  conduction  to  comprise  both  induction 
and  discharge,  the  one  following  the  other  in  perfect  con- 
ductors within  an  inexpressibly  brief  interval.  Insulation 
does  not  prevent  induction;  but,  so  far  as  it  goes,  it  prevents 
discharge.  In  practice  this  part  of  the  process  of  conduc- 
tion does  not  take  place  through  glass  during  any  time  or- 
dinarily allotted  to  our  experiments,  however  correct  you 
may  have  been  in  supposing  it  to  have  ensued  before  the 
expiration  of  a  year  or  more  in  the  case  of  the  tubes  which 
you  had  sealed  after  charging  them.  But  conceding  it  to 
have  been  thus  proved  that  glass  had,  comparatively  with 
metals,  an  infinitely  small  degree  of  the  conducting  power; 
is  it  this  minute  degree  of  conducting  power,  which  enables 
it  to  prevent  conduction,  or  in  other  words  to  insulate  ? 

Induction  arises  from  one  or  more  properties  of  electricity, 
insulation  from  a  property  of  ponderable  matter;  and 
although  there  be  no  matter  capable  of  preventing  induc- 
tion, as  well  as  discharge,  were  there  such  a  matter,  would 
that  annihilate  insulation?  On  the  contrary  would  it  not 
exhibit  the  property  in  the  highest  perfection? 

As  respects  the  residual  charge  of  a  battery,  is  it  not  evi- 
dent that  any  electrical  charge  which  affects  the  surface  of 
the  glass,  must  produce  a  corresponding  effect  upon  the 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  419 

stratum  of  air  in  contact  with  the  coating  of  the  glass?  If 
we  place  one  coating  between  two  panes,  will  it  not  enable 
us  to  a  certain  extent  to  charge  or  discharge  both?  Sub- 
stituting the  air  for  one  of  them,  will  it  not,  in  some  measure, 
be  liable  to  an  affection  similar  to  that  of  the  vitreous  sur- 
face for  which  it  is  substituted?  In  the  well  known  process 
of  the  condensing  electrometer,  the  plate  of  air  interposed 
between  the  disks  is,  I  believe,  universally  admitted  to  per- 
form the  part  of  an  electric,  and  to  be  equivalent  in  its  prop- 
erties to  the  glass  in  a  coated  pane. 

When  I  adverted  to  a  gradual  relinquishment  of  elec- 
tricity by  the  air  to  the  glass,  I  did  not  mean  to  suggest  that 
it  was  attended  by  any  more  delay  than  the  case  actually 
demonstrates.  It  might  be  slow  or  gradual,  compared  with 
the  velocity  of  an  electric  discharge,  and  yet  be  extremely 
quick,  comparatively  with  any  velocity  ever  produced  in 
ponderable  matter.  That  the  return  should  be  slow  when 
no  coating  was  employed,  and  yet  quick  when  it  was  em- 
ployed, as  stated  by  you  (xxxviii,)  is  precisely  what  I  should 
have  expected;  because  the  coating  only  operates  to  remove 
all  obstruction  to  the  electric  equilibrium.  The  quantity  or 
intensity  of  the  excitement  is  dependent  altogether  upon  the 
electrified  surfaces  of  the  air  and  the  glass.  You  have  cited 
(1632,)  the  property  of  a  charged  Leyden  jar,  as  usually 
accoutered,  of  electrifying  a  carrier  ball.  This  I  think  sanc- 
tions the  existence  of  a  power  to  electrify  by  "  convextion," 
the  surrounding  air  to  a  greater  or  less  depth;  since  it  must 
be  evident  that  every  aerial  particle  must  be  competent  to 
perform  the  part  of  the  carrier  ball. 

Agreeably  to  the  Franklinian  doctrine,  the  electricity 
directly  accumulated  upon  one  side  of  a  pane  repels  that 
upon  the  other  side.  You  admit  that  this  would  take  place 
were  a  vacuum  to  intervene;  but  when  ponderable  matter  is 
interposed,  you  conceive  each  particle  to  act  as  does  the  body 


420  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

B  when  situated  as  described  between  A  and  C  (iv.)  But 
agreeably  to  the  view  which  I  have  taken,  and  what  I  under- 
stand to  be  your  own  exposition  of  the  case,  B  is  altogether 
passive,  so  that  it  cannot  help,  if  it  does  not  impede  the  re- 
pulsive influence.  Moreover,  it  must  be  quite  evident,  that 
were  B  removed,  and  A  approximated  to  C,  without  attaining 
the  striking  distance,  the  effect  upon  C  and  the  consequent 
energy  of  any  discharge  upon  it  from  A  would  be  greater 
instead  of  less.  If  in  the  charge  of  a  coated  pane  the  inter- 
mediate ponderable  vitreous  particles  have  any  tendency  to 
enhance  the  charge,  how  happens  it  that,  the  power  of  the 
machine  employed  being  the  same,  the  intensity  of  the  charge 
which  can  be  given  to  an  electric  is  greater  in  proportion  to 
its  tenuity? 

In  reference  to  the  direction  of  any  discharge,  it  appears 
to  me  that,  as  in  charging,  the  fluid  must  always  pass  from 
the  cathode  to  the  anode,  so  in  reversing  the  process  it  must 
pursue,  as  I  have  alleged,  the  opposite  course  of  going  from 
the  anode  back  to  the  cathode.  Evidently  the  circumvolu- 
tions of  the  circuit  are  as  unimportant  as  respects  a  correct 
idea  of  the  direction,  as  their  length  has  been  shown  by  Wheat- 
stone,  to  be  incompetent  to  produce  any  perceptible  delay. 

The  dissipation  of  conductors  being  one  of  the  most  prom- 
inent among  electrical  phenomena,  it  appears  to  me  to  be 
an  objection  to  your  theory,  if  while  it  fails  to  suggest  any 
process  by  which  this  phenomenon  is  produced,  it  assumes 
premises  which  seem  to  be  incompatible  with  the  generation 
of  any  explosive  power.  If  discharge  only  involves  the 
restoration  of  polarized  ponderable  particles  to  their  natural 
state,  the  potency  of  the  discharge  must  be  proportionable 
to  the  intensity  of  the  antecedent  polarity;  yet  it  is  through 
conductors,  liable,  as  you  allege,  to  polarization  of  compara- 
tively low  intensity  (xxxi),  that  discharge  takes  place  with 
the  highest  degree  of  explosive  violence. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  421 

Having  inquired  how  your  allegation  could  be  true,  that 
discharge  brings  bodies  to  their  natural  state  and  yet  causes 
conductors  to  be  dissipated,  you  reply  (xxxiv)  that  differ- 
ent effects  may  result  from  the  same  cause  acting  with  dif- 
ferent degrees  of  intensity;  as  when  by  one  degree  of  heat 
ice  is  converted  into  water,  by  another  into  steam.  But  it 
may  be  urged,  that  although  in  the  case  thus  cited,  different 
effects  are  produced,  yet  that  the  one  is  not  inconsistent  with 
the  other,  as  were  those  ascribed  to  electrical  discharges.  It 
is  quite  consistent,  that  the  protoxide  of  hydrogen  which 
per  se  constitutes  the  solid  called  ice,  should  by  one  degree 
of  calorific  repulsion  have  the  cohesion  of  its  particles  so 
counteracted  as  to  be  productive  of  fusion;  and  yet  that  a 
higher  degree  of  the  same  power  should  impart  to  them  the 
repulsive  quality  requisite  to  the  aeriform  state.  In  order 
to  found  upon  the  influence  of  variations  of  temperature,  a 
good  objection  to  my  argument,  it  should  be  shown,  that 
while  a  certain  reduction  of  temperature  enables  aqueous 
particles  to  indulge  their  innate  propensity  to  consolidation, 
a  still  further  reduction  will  cause  them,  in  direct  opposition 
to  that  propensity,  to  repel  each  other  so  as  to  form  steam. 

In  your  concluding  paragraph  you  allege,  "  that  when 
ponderable  particles  intervene,  during  the  process  of  dynamic 
induction,  the  currents  resulting  from  this  source  do  require 
these  particles."  I  presume  this  allegation  is  to  be  explained 
by  the  conjecture  made  by  you  (1729)  that  since  certain 
bodies  when  interposed  did  not  interfere  with  dynamic  in- 
duction, therefore  they  might  be  inferred  to  co-operate  in 
the  transmission  of  that  species  of  inductive  influence.  But 
if  the  induction  takes  place  without  the  ponderable  matter, 
is  it  right  to  assume  that  this  matter  aids  because  it  does  not 
prevent  the  effect?  Might  it  not  be  as  reasonably  inferred 
in  the  case  of  light,  that  although  its  transmission  does  not 
require  the  interposition  of  a  pane  of  glass,  yet  that  when 


422  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

such  a  pane  is  interposed,  since  the  light  is  not  intercepted, 
there  is  reason  to  suppose  an  active  co-operation  of  the 
vitreous  particles  in  aid  of  the  radiation?  It  may  be  expedient 
here  to  advert  to  the  fact  that  Prof.  Henry  has  found  a  metal- 
lic plate  to  interfere  with  the  dynamic  induction  of  one  flat 
helix  upon  another.  I  have  myself  been  witness  of  this  result. 

Does  not  magnetic  or  electrodynamic  induction  take  place 
as  well  in  vacuo  as  in  pleno?  Has  the  presence  of  any  gas 
been  found  to  promote  or  retard  that  species  of  reaction?  It 
appears,  that  agreeably  to  your  experiments,  ponderable 
bodies,  when  made  to  intervene,  did  not  enhance  the  influence 
in  question;  while  in  some  of  those  performed  by  Henry  it 
was  intercepted  by  them.  Does  it  not  follow  that  ponderable 
particles  may  impede,  but  cannot  assist  in  this  process? 

I  am  happy  to  find,  that  among  the  opinions  which  I  ex- 
pressed in  my  letter  to  you,  although  there  are  several  in 
which  you  do  not  concur,  there  are  some  which  you  esteem 
of  importance,  though  you  do  not  consider  yourself  justified 
in  extending  to  them  your  sanction;  being  constrained,  in 
the  present  state  of  human  knowledge,  to  hold  your  judg- 
ment in  suspense.  For  the  present,  I  shall  here  take  leave 
of  this  subject,  having  already  so  extended  my  letter  as  to 
occupy  too  much  of  your  valuable  time.  I  am  aware  that 
as  yet  I  have  not  sufficiently  studied  many  of  the  results  of 
your  sagacity,  ingenuity,  and  skill  in  experimental  investiga- 
tions. When  I  shall  have  time  to  make  them  the  subject 
of  the  careful  consideration  which  they  merit,  I  may  venture 
to  subject  your  patience  to  the  additional  trial  resulting  from 
some  further  commentaries.  I  remain,  with  the  highest 
esteem,  respectfully  yours,  ROBERT  HARE." 

In  Faraday's  answer  to  the  preceding  letter  he  said : '  You 
must  excuse  me,  however,  for  several  reasons,  from  answer- 
ing it  at  any  length.  The  first  is  my  distaste  for  controversy, 
which  is  so  great  that  I  would  on  no  account  our  correspond- 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  423 

ence  should  acquire  that  character.  I  have  often  seen  it  do 
great  harm,  and  yet  remember  few  cases  in  natural  knowl- 
edge where  it  has  helped  much  either  to  pull  down  error  or 
advance  truth.  Criticism,  on  the  other  hand,  is  of  much 
value;  and  when  criticism  such  as  yours  has  done  its  duty, 
then  it  is  for  other  minds  than  those  either  of  the  author  or 
critic  to  decide  upon  and  acknowledge  the  right.' 

As  late  as  November  30,  1844,  Hare  said,  before  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  "  Faraday  objects  to  the 
Newtonian  idea  of  an  atom,  being  associated  with  combining 
ratios.  These  he  conceives  to  have  been  more  advantageously 
designated  as  chemical  equivalents. 

This  sagacious  investigator  adverts  to  the  fact  that  after 
each  atom  in  a  mass  of  metal  potassium,  has  combined  with 
an  atom  of  oxygen  and  an  atom  of  water,  forming  thus  a 
hydrated  oxide,  the  resulting  aggregate  occupies  much  less 
space  than  its  metallic  ingredient  previously  occupied ;  so  that 
taking  equal  bulks  of  the  hydrate  and  of  potassium,  there 
will  be  in  the  metal  only  four  hundred  and  thirty  metallic 
atoms,  while  in  the  hydrate  there  will  be  seven  hundred  such 
atoms.  And  in  the  latter,  besides  the  seven  hundred  atoms, 
in  all  two  thousand  eight  hundred  ponderable  atoms.  It  fol- 
lows that  if  the  atoms  of  potassium  are  to  be  considered  as 
minute  impenetrable  particles,  kept  at  certain  distances  by 
an  equilibrium  of  forces,  there  must  be,  in  a  mass  of  potas- 
sium, vastly  more  space  than  matter.  Moreover,  it  is  the 
space  alone  that  can  be  continuous.  The  non-contiguous 
material  atoms  cannot  form  a  continuous  mass.  Consequently 
the  well  known  power  of  potassium  to  conduct  electricity 
must  be  a  quality  of  the  continuous  empty  space,  which  it 
comprises,  not  of  the  discontinuous  particles  of  matter  with 
which  that  space  is  regularly  interspersed.  It  is  in  the  next 
place  urged  that  while,  agreeably  to  these  considerations, 
space  is  shown  to  be  a  conductor,  there  are  considerations 


424  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

equally  tending  to  prove  it  to  be  a  non-conductor;  since  in 
certain  non-conducting  bodies,  such  as  resins,  there  must  be 
nearly  as  much  vacant  space  as  in  potassium.  Hence,  the 
supposition  that  atoms  are  minute  impenetrable  particles, 
involves  the  necessity  of  considering  empty  space  as  a  con- 
ductor in  metals  and  as  a  non-conductor  in  resins,  and  of 
course  in  sulphur  and  other  electrics.  This  is  considered  as 
a  reductio  ad  dbsurdum.  To  avoid  this  contradiction,  Fara- 
day supposes  that  atoms  are  not  minute  impenetrable  bodies, 
but,  existing  throughout  the  whole  space  in  which  their  prop- 
erties are  observed,  may  penetrate  each  other.  Consistently, 
although  the  atoms  of  potassium  pervade  the  whole  space 
which  they  apparently  occupy,  the  entrance  into  that  space 
of  an  equivalent  number  of  atoms  of  oxygen  and  water,  in  con- 
sequence of  some  reciprocal  reaction,  causes  a  contraction  in 
the  boundaries  by  which  the  combination  thus  formed  is  in- 
closed. This  is  an  original  and  interesting  view  of  this  subject, 
well  worthy  of  the  contemplation  of  chemical  philosophers. 
But  upon  these  premises  Faraday  has  ventured  on  some 
inferences  which,  upon  various  accounts,  appear  to  me  un- 
warrantable. I  agree  that  "  a  "  representing  a  particle  of 
matter  and  "  m  "  representing  its  properties,  it  is  only  with 
"  m  "  that  we  have  any  acquaintance,  the  existence  of  "  a  " 
resting  merely  on  an  inference.  Heretofore  I  have  often 
appealed  to  this  fact,  in  order  to  show  that  the  evidence  both 
of  ponderable  and  imponderable  matter  is  of  the  same  kind 
precisely:  the  existence  of  properties  which  can  only  be  ac- 
counted for  by  inferring  the  existence  of  an  appropriate 
matter  to  which  those  properties  appertain.  Yet  I  cannot 
concur  in  the  idea  that  because  it  is  only  with  "  m  "  that 
we  are  acquainted,  the  existence  of  "  a  "  must  not  be  inferred ; 
so  that  bodies  are  to  be  considered  as  constituted  of  their 
materialized  powers.  I  use  the  word  materialized,  because 
it  is  fully  admitted  by  Faraday,  that  by  dispensing  with  an 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  425 

impenetrable  atom  "  a,"  we  do  not  get  rid  of  the  idea  of  mat- 
ter, but  have  to  imagine  each  atom  as  existing  throughout 
the  whole  sphere  of  its  force,  instead  of  being  condensed  about 
the  centre.  This  seems  to  follow  from  the  following  language : 

"  The  view  now  stated  of  the  constitution  of  matter,  would 
seem  to  involve  necessarily  the  conclusion  that  matter  fills  all 
space,  or  at  least  the  space  to  which  gravitation  extends,  in- 
cluding the  sun  and  its  system,  for  gravitation  is  a  property  of 
matter,  dependent  on  a  certain  force,  and  it  is  this  force  which 
constitutes  matter" 

Literally  this  paragraph  seems  to  convey  the  impression, 
that  agreeably  to  the  new  idea  of  matter,  the  sun  and  his 
planets  are  not  distinct  bodies,  but  consist  of  certain  ma- 
terial powers  reciprocally  penetrating  each  other,  and  per- 
vading a  space  larger  than  that  comprised  within  the  orbit 
of  Uranus.  We  do  not  live  upon,  but  within  the  matter  of 
which  the  earth  is  constituted,  or  rather  within  a  mixture  of 
all  the  solar  and  planetary  matter  belonging  to  our  solar 
system.  I  cannot  conceive  that  the  sagacious  author  seriously 
intended  to  sanction  any  notion  involving  these  consequences. 
I  shall  assume  therefore,  that,  excepting  the  case  of  gravita- 
tion, his  new  idea  of  matter  was  intended  to  be  restricted  to 
those  powers  which  display  themselves  within  masses  at  in- 
sensible distances  and  shall  proceed  to  state  the  objections 
which  seem  to  exist  against  the  new  idea  as  associated  with 
these  powers. 

Evidently  the  arguments  of  Faraday  against  the  exist- 
ence, in  potassium  and  other  masses  of  matter,  of  impene- 
trable atoms  endowed  with  cohesion,  chemical  affinity,  mo- 
mentum, and  gravitation,  rest  upon  the  inference  that  in 
metals  there  is  nothing  to  perform  the  part  of  an  electrical 
conductor  besides  continuous  empty  space.  This  illustrious 
philosopher  has  heretofore  appeared  to  be  disinclined  to  ad- 
mit the  existence  of  any  matter  devoid  of  ponderability.  The 


426  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

main  object  of  certain  letters  which  I  addressed  to  him,  was 
to  prove  that  the  phenomena  of  induction  could  not,  as  he 
had  represented,  be  an  ee  action  "  of  ponderable  atoms,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  must  be  considered  as  an  affection  of  them 
consequent  to  the  intervention  of  an  imponderable  matter, 
without  which  the  phenomena  of  electricity  would  be  inex- 
plicable. This  disinclination  to  the  admission  of  an  impon- 
derable electrical  cause,  has  been  the  more  remarkable,  as  his 
researches  have  not  only  proved  the  existence  of  prodigious 
electrical  power  in  metals,  but  likewise,  that  it  is  evolved 
during  chemico-electric  reaction,  in  equivalent  proportion  to 
the  quantity  of  ponderable  matter  decomposed  or  combined. 

According  to  his  researches,  a  grain  of  water  by  elec- 
trolytic reaction  with  four  grains  of  zinc,  evolves  as  much 
electricity  as  would  charge  fifteen  millions  of  square  feet 
of  coated  glass.  But  in  addition  to  the  proofs  of  the  ex- 
istence of  electrical  powers  in  metals  thus  furnished,  it  is 
demonstrated  that  this  power  must  be  inseparably  associated 
with  metals,  by  the  well  known  fact,  that  in  the  magneto- 
electric  machine,  an  apparatus  which  we  owe  to  his  genius  and 
the  mechanical  ingenuity  of  Pixii  and  Saxton,  a  coil  of  wire 
being  subjected  to  the  inductive  influence  of  a  magnet,  is 
capable  of  furnishing,  within  the  circuit  which  it  forms,  all 
the  phenomena  of  an  electrical  current,  whether  of  ignition, 
shock,  or  electrolysis. 

The  existence  in  metals  of  an  enormous  calorific  power 
must  be  evident  from  the  heat  evolved  by  mere  hammering. 
It  is  well  known,  that  by  a  skillful  application  of  the  hammer, 
a  piece  of  iron  may  be  ignited.  To  what  other  cause  than 
their  inherent  calorific  power  can  the  ignition  of  metals  by 
a  discharge  of  statical  electricity  be  ascribed? 

It  follows  that  the  existence  of  an  immense  calorific  and 
electrical  power  is  undeniable.  The  materiality  of  these 
powers,  or  of  their  cause,  is  all  that  has  been  questionable. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  427 

But,  according  to  the  speculations  of  Faraday,  all  the  powers 
of  matter  are  material;  not  only  the  calorific  and  electrical 
powers  are  thus  to  be  considered,  but  likewise  the  powers  of 
cohesion,  chemical  affinity,  inertia  and  gravitation,  while  of 
all  these  material  powers  only  the  latter  can  be  ponderable! " 

Thus  a  disinclination  on  the  part  of  this  distinguished 
investigator  to  admit  the  existence  of  one  or  two  imponder- 
able principles,  has  led  him  into  speculations  involving  the 
existence  of  a  much  greater  number.  But  if  the  calorific 
and  electrical  powers  of  matter  be  material,  and  if  such 
enormous  quantities  exist  in  potassium,  as  well  as  in  zinc 
and  all  other  metals,  so  much  of  the  reasoning  in  question 
as  is  founded  on  the  vacuity  of  the  space  between  the  metallic 
atoms,  is  really  groundless. 

Although  the  space  occupied  by  the  hydrated  oxide  of 
potassium  comprises  two  thousand  eight  hundred  ponder- 
able atoms,  while  that  occupied  by  an  equal  mass  of  the 
metal,  comprises  only  four  hundred  and  thirty,  there  may 
be  in  the  latter  proportionably  as  much  more  of  the  material 
powers  of  heat  and  electricity  as  there  is  less  of  matter  en- 
dowed with  ponderability. 

Thus  while  assuming  the  existence  of  fewer  imponderable 
causes  than  the  celebrated  author  of  the  speculation  has  him- 
self proposed,  we  explain  the  conducting  power  of  metals, 
without  being  under  the  necessity  of  attributing  to  void  space 
the  property  of  electrical  conduction.  Moreover,  I  consider 
it  quite  consistent  to  suppose  that  the  presence  of  the  ma- 
terial power  of  electricity  is  indispensable  to  electrical  con- 
duction, and  that  diversities  in  this  faculty  are  due  to  the 
proportion  of  that  material  power  present,  and  the  mode  of 
its  association  with  other  matter.  The  immense  superiority 
of  metals,  as  conductors,  will  be  explained  by  referring  to 
their  being  peculiarly  replete  with  the  material  powers  of 
heat  and  electricity. 


428  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

Hence  Faraday's  suggestions  respecting  the  materiality 
of  what  has  heretofore  been  designated  as  the  properties  of 
bodies,  furnish  the  means  of  refuting  his  arguments  against 
the  existence  of  ponderable  impenetrable  atoms  as  the  basis 
of  cohesion,  chemical  affinity,  momentum  and  gravitation. 

But  I  will  in  the  next  place  prove,  that  his  suggestions 
not  only  furnish  an  answer  to  his  objections  to  the  views  in 
this  respect  heretofore  entertained,  but  are  likewise  pregnant 
with  consequences  directly  inconsistent  with  the  view  of  the 
subject  which  he  has  recently  presented. 

I  have  said  that  of  all  the  powers  of  matter  which  are, 
according  to  Faraday's  speculations,  to  be  deemed  material, 
gravitation  alone  can  be  ponderable.  Since  gravitation,  in 
common  with  every  power  heretofore  attributed  to  impene- 
trable particles,  must  be  a  matter  independently  pervading 
the  space  throughout  which  it  is  perceived,  by  what  tie  is  it 
indissolubly  attached  to  the  rest?  It  cannot  be  pretended 
that  either  of  the  powers  is  the  property  of  another.  Each 
of  them  is  an  "  m,"  and  cannot  play  the  part  of  an  "  a,"  not 
only  because  an  "  m  "  cannot  be  an  "  a,"  but  because  no  "  a  " 
can  exist.  Nor  can  it  be  advanced  that  they  are  the  same 
power,  since  chemical  affinity  and  cohesion  act  only  at  in- 
sensible distances,  while  gravitation  acts  at  any  and  every  dis- 
tance, with  forces  inversely  as  their  squares:  and,  moreover, 
the  power  of  chemical  affinity  is  not  commensurate  with  that 
of  gravitation.  One  part  by  weight  of  hydrogen  has  a  greater 
affinity  universally  for  any  other  element,  than  two  hundred 
parts  of  gold.  By  what  means  then  are  cohesion,  chemical 
affinity,  and  gravitation,  inseparably  associated,  in  all  the 
ponderable  elements  of  matter?  Is  it  not  fatal  to  the  validity 
of  the  highly  ingenious  and  interesting  deductions  of  Fara- 
day, that  they  are  thus  shown  to  be  utterly  incompetent  to 
explain  the  inseparable  association  of  cohesion,  chemical  affin- 
ity and  inertia  with  gravitation;  while  the  existence  of  a 
vacuity  between  Newtonian  atoms,  mainly  relied  upon  as  the 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  429 

basis  of  an  argument  against  their  existence,  is  shown  to  be 
inconsistent  both  with  the  ingenious  speculation,  which  has 
called  forth  these  remarks,  and  those  Herculean  "  researches  " 
which  must  perpetuate  his  fame. 

On  the  receipt  of  a  pamphlet,  entitled,  "A  Demonstra- 
tion that  All  Matter  is  Heavy,"  from  Prof.  William  Whewell 
of  Cambridge  University,  Hare  wrote  (1842)  the  author  as 
follows : 

"Dear  Sir: — I  thank  you  for  your  kind  attention  in 
sending  me  a  copy  of  your  pamphlet  entitled,  (t  A  Demon- 
stration that  all  Matter  is  Heavy/"  comprising  a  communica- 
tion made  to  the  Cambridge  Philosophical  Society. 

I  conceive  that  to  demonstrate  that  all  matter  is  heavy, 
is,  in  other  words,  to  prove  that  all  matter  is  endowed  with 
attraction  of  gravitation,  or  that  general  property  which, 
when  it  causes  bodies  to  tend  towards  the  centre  of  the  earth, 
is  called  weight.  Hence  to  assert  that  all  matter  is  heavy,  is 
no  more  than  to  say,  that  attraction  of  gravitation  exists 
between  all  or  any  masses  of  matter. 

You  say,  "  it  may  be  urged  that  we  have  no  difficulty 
in  conceiving  of  matter  which  is  not  heavy."  I  have  no  hesita- 
tion in  asserting,  that  there  should  be  no  difficulty  in  enter- 
taining such  a  conception;  since  I  cannot  understand  why  any 
two  masses  may  not  be  as  readily  conceived  to  repel  as  to 
attract  each  other,  or  neither  to  attract  nor  to  repel.  Is  it  not 
easier  to  imagine  two  remote  masses  indifferent  to  each  other, 
than  that  they  act  upon  each  other?  Is  anything  more  difficult 
to  understand  than  that  a  body  can  act  where  it  is  not? 

It  is  also  mentioned  by  you,  that  it  may  be  urged  "  that 
inertia  and  weight  are  two  separate  properties  of  matter." 
Now  I  will  not  only  urge,  but  also,  with  all  due  deference, 
will  undertake  to  show,  that  the  existence  of  inertia  may  as 
well  be  proven,  and  its  quantity  estimated,  by  means  of 
repulsion  as  by  means  of  attraction. 


430  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

Suppose  two  bodies,  A  and  B,  to  be  endowed  with 
reciprocal  attraction ;  or,  in  other  words,  to  gravitate  towards 
each  other.  Being  placed  at  a  distance,  and  then  allowed  to 
approach,  if,  after  any  given  time,  it  were  found  that  they 
had  moved  severally  any  ascertained  distances,  evidently  their 
relative  inertias  would  be  considered  as  inversely  as  those 
distances. 

In  the  next  place,  let  us  suppose  two  bodies,  X  and 
Y,  endowed  with  the  opposite  force  of  reciprocal  repulsion, 
to  be  placed  in  proximity,  and  then  allowed  to  fly  apart.  The 
distances  run  through  by  them  severally,  being,  at  any  given 
time,  determined,  might  not  their  respective  inertias  be  taken 
to  be  inversely  as  those  distances ;  so  that  the  question  would 
be  as  well  ascertained  in  this  case,  as  in  that  above  stated  in 
which  gravitation  should  be  resorted  to  as  the  test? 

It  seems  to  me  that  this  question  is  sufficiently  answered, 
in  the  affirmative,  in  your  second  paragraph,  page  269,  in 
which  you  allege,  that  "  one  body  has  twice  as  much  inertia 
as  another,  if  when  the  same  force  acts  upon  it  for  the  same 
time,  it  acquires  but  half  the  velocity.  This  is  the  funda- 
mental conception  of  inertia" 

In  the  third  paragraph  you  say,  "  that  the  quantity  of 
matter  is  measured  by  those  sensible  properties  of  matter 
which  undergo  quantitative  addition,  subtraction,  and  divi- 
sion, as  the  matter  is  added,  subtracted,  or  divided,  the  quan- 
tity of  matter  cannot  be  known  in  any  other  way;  but  this 
mode  of  measuring  the  quantity  of  matter  in  order  to  be  true 
at  all,  must  be  true  universally" 

Also  your  fourth  paragraph,  fifth  page,  concludes  with 
this  allegation, (e  and  thus  we  have  proved  that  if  there  be  any 
kind  of  matter  which  is  not  heavy,  the  weight  can  no  longer 
avail  us,  in  any  case  to  any  extent,  as  the  measure  of  the 
quantity  of  matter" 

In  reply  to  these  allegations  let  me  inquire,  cannot  a 
matter  exist  of  which  the  sensible  properties  do  not  admit  of 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  431 

being  measured  by  human  means?  Because  some  kinds  of 
matter  can  be  measured  by  "  those  sensible  qualities  which 
undergo  quantitative  addition,  subtraction  and  division,"  does 
it  follow  that  there  may  not  be  matter  which  is  incapable  of 
being  thus  measured?  And  wherefore  would  the  method  of 
obtaining  philosophical  truth  be  "  futile  "  in  the  one  case, 
because  inapplicable  in  the  other?  Because  the  inertias  of 
A  and  B  have  been  discovered,  by  means  of  their  gravitation, 
does  it  follow  that  the  inertias  of  X  and  Y  cannot  be  discov- 
ered by  their  self -repellent  power?  Why  should  the  inap- 
plicability of  gravitation  in  the  one  case  render  its  employ- 
ment futile  in  the  other? 

It  is  self-evident,  that  matter  without  weight  cannot 
be  estimated  by  weighing,  but  I  deny  that  on  that  account 
such  weightless  matter  may  not  be  otherwise  estimated.  The 
inertia  of  A  and  B  cannot  be  better  measured  by  gravitation 
than  those  of  X  and  Y  by  repulsion,  as  already  shown. 

You  seem  to  infer,  in  paragraph  second,  page  sixth, 
that  we  should  be  equally  destitute  of  the  means  of  measur- 
ing matter  accurately,  "  were  any  kind  of  matter  heavy  in- 
deed, but  not  so  heavy,  in  proportion  to  its  quantity  of  matter, 
as  other  kinds." 

If  in  the  case  of  all  matter  weight  be  admitted  to  be 
the  only  measure  of  quantity,  it  were  inconsistent  to  suppose 
any  given  quantity  of  matter,  of  any  kind;  but  upon  what 
other  than  a  conventional  basis  is  it  to  be  assumed,  that  there 
is  more  matter  in  a  cubic  inch  of  platinum  than  in  a  cubic 
inch  of  tin;  in  a  cubic  inch  of  mercury  than  in  a  cubic  inch 
of  iron?  Judging  by  the  chemical  efficacy  of  the  masses, 
although  the  weight  of  mercury  is  to  that  of  iron  as  13.6  to  8, 
there  are  more  equivalents  of  the  latter  than  the  former  in 
any  given  bulk,  since  by  weight  twenty-eight  parts  of  iron  are 
equivalent  to  two  hundred  and  two  parts  of  mercury. 

Weight  is  one  of  the  properties  of  certain  kinds  of  mat- 
ter, and  has  been  advantageously  resorted  to,  in  prefer- 


432  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

ence  to  any  other  property,  in  estimating  the  quantity  of  the 
matter  to  which  it  appertains.  Nevertheless,  measurement 
by  bulk  is  found  expedient  or  necessary  in  many  cases.  But 
may  we  not  appeal  to  any  general  property  which  admits 
of  being  measured  or  estimated?  Faraday  has  inferred  that 
the  quantity  of  electricity,  is  as  the  quantity  of  gas  which 
it  evolved.  Light  has  been  considered  as  proportional  in 
quantity  to  the  surface  which  it  illuminates  with  a  given 
intensity  at  3,  certain  distance.  The  quantity  of  caloric  has 
been  held  to  be  directly  as  the  weight  of  water  which  it  will 
render  aeriform;  and  has  also  been  estimated  by  the  degree 
of  its  expansive  or  thermometric  influence.  What  scale- 
beam  is  more  delicate  than  the  thermoscope  of  Meloni? 

In  the  last  paragraph  but  one,  seventh  page,  you  sug- 
gest that  "perhaps  some  persons  might  conceive  that  the 
identity  of  weight  and  inertia  is  obvious  at  once,  for  both  are 
merely  resistance  to  motion;  inertia,  resistance  to  all  motion, 
or  change  of  motion;  weight  resistance  to  motion  upwards." 

I  am  surprised  that  you  should  think  the  opinion  of 
any  person  worthy  of  attention,  who  should  entertain  so 
narrow  a  view  of  weight,  as  antagonist  of  momentum,  as  that 
above  quoted,  "  that  it  is  a  resistance  to  motion  upwards." 
Agreeably  to  the  definition,  given  at  the  commencement  of 
the  letter,  weight,  in  its  usual  practical  sense,  is  only  one 
case  of  the  general  force  which  causes  all  ponderable  masses 
of  matter  to  gravitate  towards  each  other,  and  which  is  of 
course  liable  to  resist  any  conflicting  motion,  whatever  may 
be  the  direction.  When  in  the  form  of  solar  attraction,  it 
overcomes  that  inertia  of  the  planets  which  would  otherwise 
cause  them  to  leave  their  orbits,  does  gravitation  "resist 
motion  upwards?  " 

In  the  next  paragraph  you  allege,  that  "  there  is  a 
difference  in  these  two  kinds  of  resistance  to  motion.  Inertia 
is  instantaneous,  weight  is  continuous  resistance/' 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  433 

It  is  to  this  allegation  I  object,  that  as  you  have  de- 
fined inertia  to  be  "resistance  to  motion,  or  to  change  of 
motion"  it  follows  that  it  can  be  instantaneous  only  where 
the  impulse  which  it  resists  is  instantaneous.  It  cannot  be 
less  continuous  than  the  force  by  which  it  is  overcome. 

Gravity  has  been  considered  as  acting  upon  falling 
bodies  by  an  infinity  of  impulses,  each  producing  an  adequate 
acceleration;  but  to  every  such  accelerating  impulse,  produc- 
ing of  course  a  " change  of  motion"  will  there  not  be  a  com- 
mensurate resistance  from  inertia?  And  the  impulses  and  re- 
sistances being  both  infinite,  will  not  one  be  as  continuous 
as  the  other? 

I  have  already  adverted  to  inertia  as  the  continuous 
antagonist  of  solar  attraction  in  the  case  of  revolving  planets. 

Agreeably  to  Mossotti,  the  creation  consists  of  two  kinds 
of  matter,  of  which  the  homogeneous  particles  are  mutu- 
ally repellent,  the  heterogeneous  mutually  attractive.  Con- 
sistently with  this  hypothesis,  per  se,  any  matter  must  be  im- 
ponderable ;  being  endowed  with  a  property  the  veiy  opposite 
of  attraction  of  gravitation.  This  last  mentioned  property 
exists  between  masses  consisting  of  both  kinds  of  particles,  so 
far  as  the  attraction  between  the  heterogeneous  atoms  pre- 
dominates over  the  repulsion  between  those  which  are  homoge- 
neous. It  would  follow  from  these  premises,  that  all  matter  is 
ponderable  or  otherwise,  accordingly  as  it  may  be  situated. 

Can  the  ether  by  which,  according  to  the  undulatory 
theory,  light  is  transmitted,  consist  of  ponderable  matter? 
Were  it  so,  would  it  not  be  attracted  about  the  planets  with 
forces  proportioned  to  their  weight,  respectively?  and  be- 
coming of  unequal  density,  would  not  the  diversity  in  its 
density,  thus  arising,  affect  its  undulations,  as  the  transmission 
of  sound  is  influenced  by  any  variations  in  the  density  of 
the  aeriform  fluid  by  which  it  is  propagated? 

With  esteem,  I  am  yours  truly, 

ROBERT  HARE." 


434  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

Among  the  contributions  made  in  1847  by  Hare  was  one 
entitled,  "  On  Free  Electricity"  in  which  appear  the  fol- 
lowing thoughts,  disclosing  the  author's  wonderful  grasp  of 
his  subject: 

"Practically  there  is  a  striking  difference  between  the 
excitement  of  an  electrified  insulated  conductor,  the  prime 
conductor  of  an  electrical  machine  for  instance,  and  the  charge 
of  a  coated  pane  or  Leyden  jar.  In  the  one  case  diruptive 
discharge  is  productive  of  a  comparatively  short  thick  spark, 
in  the  other  of  a  spark  distinguished  by  comparative  length 
and  tenuity.  The  discharge  from  the  pan  or  jar  is  produc- 
tive, for  equal  surfaces,  of  a  much  greater  shock  than  could 
result  from  a  spark  ten  times  as  long,  from  the  conductor  of 
the  machine  by  which  the  electricity  is  generated.  And  yet 
if  the  intensity  be  inversely  as  the  square  of  the  striking  dis- 
tance, it  must  be  a  hundred  times  as  great  in  the  case  of  the 
conductor  as  in  that  of  the  coated  surfaces. 

Electricity,  as  it  exists  in  the  conductor,  has  been  called 
free :  as  it  exists  about  the  coated  pane,  has  been  called  simu- 
lated or  disguised.  Yet  Faraday  has  alleged  "  that  the  charge 
upon  an  insulated  conductor  in  the  middle  of  a  room,  has  the 
same  relation  to  the  walls  of  that  room,  as  the  charge  upon 
the  inner  coating  of  a  Leyden  jar  has  to  the  outer  coating  of 
the  same  jar."  "  The  one  is  not  more  dissimulated  than  the 
other."  "As  yet  no  means  of  communicating  electricity  to 
a  conductor,  so  as  to  place  its  particles  in  relation  to  one 
electricity  and  not  at  the  same  time  to  the  other,  in  an  equal 
amount,  has  been  discovered." 

It  seems  to  me  that  these  opinions  of  Faraday  have  been 
judiciously  criticized  by  Mr.  Goodman  in  the  London  and 
Edinburgh  Philosophical  Magazine  and  Journal,  Vol. 
XXIV,  p.  174 

It  appears  likewise  that  opinions  harmonizing  with  those 
of  Mr.  Goodman,  have  been  entertained  by  Charles  V. 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  435 

Walker,  Hon.  Sec.  L.  C.  S.,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  Proceed- 
ings, Dec.  20,  1842.  Agreeably  to  Mr.  Walker,  lightning 
resembles  the  discharge  from  a  prime  conductor,  not  that 
which  takes  place  between  the  surfaces  of  a  coated  pane  or  jar. 

I  will  proceed  to  state  the  considerations  which  induce  me 
to  concur  in  opinion  with  Mr.  Goodman  and  Mr.  Walker. 

If  two  sufficiently  remote  insulated  metallic  disks,  such  as 
usually  enter  into  the  construction  of  an  electrophorus,  by 
due  communication  with  the  rubber  and  collecting  points, 
be  made  to  serve,  one  as  the  positive,  the  other  as  the  negative 
conductor  of  an  electrical  machine  in  operation,  a  diruptive 
discharge  from  either  may  be  obtained,  by  the  approxima- 
tion of  an  uninsulated  conducting  body,  or  one  communicat- 
ing with  one  conductor  while  approximated  to  the  other. 
When  this  discharge  takes  place  from  a  small  knob  on  the 
positive  side,  to  a  large  one  on  the  negative  side,  of  the  cir- 
cuit, the  resulting  spark  is  comparatively  long,  and  by  its 
zigzag  form  represents  lightning  in  miniature. 

If,  in  the  next  place,  a  sufficiently  large  pane  of  glass 
being  interposed,  the  disks  be  made  to  serve  as  a  coating  to 
the  glass,  the  surfaces  of  the  pane  which  they  touch  will  be- 
come oppositely  charged.  If  immediately  after  the  charging 
is  effected,  both  disks  being  insulated,  the  knuckle  of  the  op- 
erator, or  any  other  conducting  body  in  communication  with 
the  earth,  be  approached  to  either  disk,  a  spark  will  pass,  and 
on  contact,  a  certain  portion  of  electricity  will  be  discharged. 
This  is  what  I  would  call  free  electricity:  but  on  making  a 
conducting  communication  between  the  disks  acting  as  coat- 
ings, a  much  larger  discharge  of  electricity  will  take  place. 
This  is  what  I  would  call  neutralized  or  dissimulated  elec- 
tricity. But  the  ratio  in  quantity  of  the  latter  to  the  former, 
varies  evidently  with  the  thickness  of  the  pane  or  panes  which 
may  be  interposed ;  so  as  to  be  inversely  as  the  square  of  the 
distances  of  the  charged  surfaces.  If  a  stratum  of  air  per- 


436  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

form  the  part  allotted  as  above  to  the  panes,  the  same  law 
must  hold  good.  But  when  instead  of  flat  disks,  corre- 
sponding in  size  and  shape,  we  substitute  a  cylindrical  or 
globular  metallic  mass,  such  as  is  generally  used  for  the  prime 
conductor  of  an  electrical  machine,  on  the  one  side,  and  on  the 
other  side  the  walls,  floor,  and  ceiling  of  a  room,  for  the  other 
surface,  evidently  the  ratio  of  the  free  electricity  to  that  which 
can  be  neutralized  must  be  enormously  great.  Supposing 
the  glass  pane  to  be  one-tenth  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  the  dis- 
tance between  the  surfaces  of  the  conductor  and  the  parietes 
of  the  room  to  be  ten  feet,  the  quantity  of  electricity  neu- 
tralized in  the  case  of  the  pane  will  be  to  that  neutralized 
in  the  case  of  the  conductor  as  the  square  of  one  to  the  square 
of  twelve  hundred  inversely;  or  in  other  words,  nearly  as  a 
million  and  a  half  to  one.  It  follows  that  in  the  phenomena 
of  discharges  from  a  prime  conductor  the  neutralizing  or 
dissimulating  influence  of  the  conducting  superficies  op- 
posed to  it  must  be  too  small  to  be  regarded. 

The  allegation  of  Faraday,  that  no  mode  has  been  dis- 
covered by  which  to  place  the  particles  of  a  conductor  in  rela- 
tion to  one  electricity,  and  not  at  the  same  time  to  the  other, 
is  verified,  as  Mr.  Goodman  has  observed,  when  the  friction 
between  the  rubber  and  glass  takes  place.  The  glass  be- 
comes positive  to  precisely  the  same  extent  as  the  rubber 
becomes  negative ;  but  when  the  vitreous  surface  thus  excited 
moves  away  from  the  rubber,  the  compensating  electricity  of 
the  rubber  being  no  longer  at  hand,  that  upon  the  glass  can- 
not realize  Faraday's  idea,  excepting  so  far  as  it  may  be 
competent  to  act  upon  the  walls,  ceiling,  and  floor  of  the 
apartment,  as  electricity  on  the  inner  surface  of  a  Leyden 
jar  acts  upon  the  outer  surface.  But  in  the  case  in  point, 
the  electric  interposed  is  so  enormously  thick,  compared  with 
the  glass  in  a  Leyden  jar,  that  very  little  of  the  inductive 
influence  can  avail  to  produce  an  opposite  state  tending  to 
neutralize  the  electrical  excitement  "  to  an  equal  amount." 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  437 

Just  so  far  as  it  can  produce  an  equivalent  opposite  state, 
it  becomes  dissimulated  or  neutralized;  so  far  as  it  does  not, 
it  is  free,  or,  in  other  words,  exercises  that  uncompensated 
activity  which  has,  in  my  opinion,  justified  the  distinction 
made  between  free  and  dissimulated,  neutralized,  or  latent 
electricity. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  I  concur  with  Mr.  Walker  in 
the  opinion,  that  on  account  of  the  distance  of  thunder  clouds 
from  the  earth,  the  electricity  which  they  may  acquire  is  too 
remote  from  the  terrestrial  surface  to  induce  in  this  an  op- 
posite electrical  state,  capable  of  neutralizing  the  electricity 
of  the  cloud  beyond  a  minute  proportion. 

There  seems  to  be  an  obvious  means  of  discrimination 
between  free  and  neutralized  electricity,  in  the  fact,  that  one 
is  associated  with  the  surface  of  a  conductor,  so  as  to  accom- 
pany it  when  moved,  while  the  neutralized  electricity  is  in- 
separable from  the  superficies  of  the  electric,  through  the 
intervention  of  which  it  exists.  It  is  well  known  that  the 
coatings  of  a  pane  or  jar  may  be  removed  without  disturbing 
the  charge  which  may  have  been  imparted  by  their  presence. 
Yet  if  removed  after  the  pane  is  fully  saturated,  each  coat- 
ing will  hold  a  charge  which  it  will  give  out  in  a  spark  to  any 
uninsulated  body,  without  any  reference  to  the  other  coat- 
ing which  may  meanwhile  be  remote  and  insulated  from  all 
communication  with  it.  The  spark  thus  yielded  has  the  char- 
acteristics of  free  electricity.  Having  served  as  a  part  of 
the  conductor,  with  which  it  had  communicated,  the  coating 
is  surcharged  in  proportion  to  its  capacity,  and  gives  up  the 
redundancy  on  communicating  with  the  earth,  without  any 
reference  to  the  other  coating.  The  spark  thus  given  I  con- 
ceive to  have  the  characteristics  of  free  electricity. 

In  the  case  of  electric  accumulations  in  the  atmosphere, 
there  can  be  no  substitute  for  the  service  performed  by  glass 
in  Ley  den  charges  but  that  which  air  can  render;  and  it  can 


438  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

hardly  be  conceived  that  while  agitated,  as  it  is  during  thunder 
gusts,  a  stratum  of  that  fluid  can  perform  the  part  of  a  glass 
pane." 

Early  in  1847  Hare  adverted  to  his  "  hydro-oxygen  blow 
pipe,"  particularly  with  reference  to  improvements  in  its  con- 
struction and  to  the  fusion  of  metals  of  the  platinum  group. 
He  speaks  of  the  "  contrivance  of  two  modes  of  producing  a 
jet  consisting  of  a  mixture  of  hydrogen  with  oxygen.  Agree- 
ably to  one  mode,  the  gaseous  currents  meeting  like  the 
branches  of  a  river,  were  made  analogously  to  form  a  common 
stream.  This  object  was  accomplished  by  means  of  per- 
forations drilled  in  a  conical  frustrum  of  pure  silver,  so  as 
to  converge  until  met  by  another  shorter  perforation,  com- 
mencing at  the  opposite  surface  and  so  extended  as  to  join 
them  at  the  point  of  their  meeting.  The  other  mode  was 
that  of  causing  one  tube  to  be  within  another,  so  as  to  be  con- 
centric; the  outer  tube  being  a  little  the  longer  of  the  two,  the 
latter  being  employed  for  hydrogen,  the  other  for  oxygen." 

It  may  suffice  to  add  that  the  perfected  apparatus  enabled 
Hare  to  accomplish  most  remarkable  results  in  the  way  of 
melting  and  purifying  several  of  the  platinum  metals. 

Now,  we  approach  a  momentous  period.  On  Monday, 
May  10,  1847,  Hare  requested  the  Dean  of  his  faculty  (the 
medical)  to  convene  his  colleagues.  At  the  ensuing  meeting 
he  announced  his  determination  to  resign  his  "situation  as  pro- 
fessor of  chemistry,"  and  at  the  same  time  desired  the  Faculty 
to  consider  the  resignation  as  already  made  and  to  take  action 
accordingly. 

There  is  no  known  reason  given  for  this  step.  He  was 
in  perfect  sympathy  with  his  immediate  associates  and  with 
the  governing  Board.  There  is  not  anywhere  a  sign  of  dis- 
satisfaction on  either  side,  so  that  about  the  only  conclusion 
at  which  one  will  arrive  is  that  he  had  become  weary  of 


SECOND  PERIOD,  1818-1847  439 

the  stupendous  burden  which  he  carried.  His  period  in  Uni- 
versity service  had  been  full  of  difficulties  and  trying  labors. 
He,  therefore,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  concluded  to  retire. 
His  going  was  most  deeply  regretted  by  his  colleagues.  In 
his  absence  they  adopted  the  following  resolutions  unani- 
mously: 

1.  Resolved.,  that  the  Medical  Faculty  in  receiving  notice 
of  Dr.  Hare's  determination  to  resign  his  Professorship,  re- 
tain the  strongest  sense  of  the  zealous,  unremitting  and  liberal 
efforts  made  by  him,  to  render  his  branch  efficient  and  in- 
structive, and  of  the  distinguished  ability  he  has  exhibited  as 
a  chemist ; — also,  that  they  have  a  most  friendly  recollection 
of  the  many  gratifying  circumstances  arising  from  their  con- 
nection with  him,  and  the  greatest  regard  for  his  high  and 
honorable  personal  qualities. 

2.  Resolved,  that  the  honorable  Board  of  Trustees  be 
respectfully  requested  to  bestow  upon  Dr.  Hare,  as  a  mark 
of  the  just  estimation,  in  which  he  is  held  in  this  Institution, 
and  of  his  faithful  services,  the  honorable  title  of  Emeritus 
Professor  of  Chemistry. 

Hare's  letter  of  resignation,  dated  May  10,  1847,  to  the 
Dean  of  the  Medical  Faculty  read: 

I  hereby  tender  my  resignation  of  the  Professorship, 
which  for  29  years  I  have  held  under  your  auspices  in  the 
Medical  Department,  with  a  grateful  sense  of  the  kindness, 
which  I  have  experienced  from  you  individually  as  well  as 
collectively.  I  am 

Yours  respectfully, 

ROBERT  HAEE." 

This  letter  was  transmitted  to  the  Board  of  Trustees.  At 
their  meeting  held  May  15,  1847,  the  following  resolution 
was  unanimously  adopted : 

"  Resolved,  that  in  accepting  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Hare, 
after  an  uninterrupted  connection  of  29  years,  the  Board 


440  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

cannot  refrain  from  expressing  to  him,  their  high  regard 
for  his  character,  their  deep  sense  of  the  eminent  services 
which  he  has  rendered  to  science,  and  to  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  their  earnest  wishes  for  his  future 
happiness." 

"  Resolved  that  the  appointment  of  Emeritus  Professor 
of  Chemistry  be  conferred  upon  Doctor  Hare." 

And  thus  passed  from  the  University  circle  one  of  its 
most  conscientious,  devoted  and  eminent  members — one  of 
its  most  brilliant  intellectual  ornaments.  His  originality 
in  thought  and  experiment  was  recognized  everywhere 
throughout  the  learned  and  scientific  world.  He  retired  per- 
manently. The  only  vestige  now  of  his  presence  in  the  Uni- 
versity is  an  old  brass  cannon  used  in  demonstrating  the 
explosibility  of  a  mixture  of  hydrogen  and  air,  or  hydrogen 
and  oxygen.  For  years  the  writer  has  insisted  upon  exhibit- 
ing this  relic  to  his  classes  in  elementary  chemistry,  largely 
because  of  his  profound  respect  for  the  discoveries  and  per- 
sonality of  the  subject  of  this  biographical  sketch.  But  the 
vast  apparatus  which  astonished  all  who  were  so  fortunate 
as  to  behold  it,  found  place  elsewhere  (p.  214) .  Henceforth, 
the  work  of  the  renowned  experimenter  was  to  be  carried 
forward  in  the  laboratory  in  his  own  home. 


THIRD  PERIOD 

1847-1858 

THIS,  the  shortest  period  in  the  life  history  of  Robert 
Hare,  is  marked  by  variety.  The  labors  attendant  upon  his 
professorship  being  now  disposed  of,  he  was  free  to  occupy 
his  time  as  he  pleased.  It  is  interesting  to  find  that  he  very 
promptly  addressed  himself  to  a  rather  difficult  problem, 
submitting  his  views  as  usual  to  the  judgment  of  his  constant 
friend  Silliman,  through  whose  Journal  he  then  made  his 
argument  before  the  general  public.  This  first  communica- 
tion as  Professor  Emeritus  is  highly  speculative,  elaborate 
and  exhaustive.  It  bears  the  title,  "  Objections  to  the 
Theories  Severally  of  Franklin,  Du  Fay  and  Ampere,  with 
an  Effort  to  Explain  Electrical  Phenomena  by  Statical  or 
Undulatory  Polarization."  To  it  is  appended  a  summary 
which  may  be  here  incorporated : 

"  The  theories  of  Franklin,  Du  Fay  and  Ampere,  are 
irreconcilable  with  the  premises  on  which  they  are  founded, 
and  with  facts  on  all  sides  admitted. 

A  charge  of  frictional  electricity,  or  that  species  of  elec- 
tric excitement  which  is  produced  by  friction,  is  not  due  to 
any  accumulation,  nor  to  any  deficiency  either  of  one  or  of 
two  fluids,  but  to  the  opposite  polarities  induced  in  impon- 
derable ethereal  matter  existing  throughout  space  however 
otherwise  void,  and  likewise  condensed  more  or  less  within 
ponderable  bodies,  so  as  to  enter  into  combination  with  their 
particles,  forming  atoms  which  may  be  designated  as  ethereo- 
ponderable. 

Frictional  charges  of  electricity  seek  the  surfaces  of  bodies 
to  which  they  may  be  imparted,  without  sensibly  affecting  the 
ethereo-ponderable  matter  of  which  they  consist. 

When  surfaces  thus  oppositely  charged,  or  in  other  words, 

441 


442  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

having  about  them  oppositely  polarized  ethereal  atmospheres, 
are  made  to  communicate,  no  current  takes  place,  nor  any 
transfer  of  the  polarized  matter:  yet  any  conductor  touching 
both  atmospheres,  furnishes  a  channel  through  which  the  op- 
posite polarities  are  reciprocally  neutralized  by  being  com- 
municated wave-like  to  an  intermediate  point. 

Galvano-electric  discharges  are  likewise  effected  by  waves 
of  opposite  polarization,  without  any  flow  of  matter  meriting 
to  be  called  a  current. 

But  such  waves  are  not  propagated  superficially  through 
the  purely  ethereal  medium;  they  occur  in  masses  formed 
both  of  the  ethereal  and  ponderable  matter.  If  the  genera- 
tion of  frictional  electricity,  sufficient  to  influence  the  gold 
leaf  electrometer,  indicates  that  there  are  some  purely  ethereal 
waves  caused  by  the  galvano-electric  reaction,  such  waves 
arise  from  the  inductive  influence  of  those  created  in  the 
ethereo-ponderable  matter. 

When  the  intensity  of  a  frictional  discharge  is  increased 
beyond  a  certain  point,  the  wire  remaining  the  same,  its 
powers  become  enfeebled  or  destroyed  by  ignition,  and  ulti- 
mately deflagration :  if  the  diameter  of  the  wire  be  increased, 
the  surface  proportionally  augmented,  enables  more  of  the 
ethereal  waves  to  pass  superficially,  producing  proportionally 
less  ethereo-ponderable  undulation. 

Magnetism,  when  stationary,  as  in  magnetic  needles  and 
other  permanent  magnets,  appears  to  be  owing  to  an  endur- 
ing polarization  of  the  ethereo-ponderable  atoms,  like  that 
transiently  produced  by  a  galvanic  discharge. 

The  magnetism  transiently  exhibited  by  a  galvanized  wire, 
is  due  to  oppositely  polarizing  impulses,  severally  proceed- 
ing wave-like  to  an  intermediate  part  of  the  circuit  where 
reciprocal  neutralization  ensues. 

When  magnetism  is  produced  by  a  frictional  discharge 
operating  upon  a  conducting  wire,  it  must  be  deemed  a  second- 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  443 

ary  effect,  arising  from  the  polarizing  influence  of  the  ether- 
eal waves  upon  the  ethereo-ponderable  atoms  of  the  wire. 

Such  waves  pass  superficially  in  preference;  but  when  the 
wire  is  comparatively  small,  the  reaction  between  the  waves 
and  ethereo-ponderable  atoms  becomes  sufficiently  powerful 
to  polarize  them,  and  thus  render  them  competent,  for  an  ex- 
tremely minute  period  of  time,  to  produce  all  the  affections 
of  a  galvano-electric  current,  whether  of  ignition,  of  elec- 
trolysis or  magnetization.  Thus,  as  the  ethereo-ponderable 
waves  produce  such  as  are  purely  ethereal,  so  purely  ethereal 
waves  may  produce  such  as  are  ethereo-ponderable. 

The  polarization  of  hair  upon  electrified  scalps  is  sup- 
posed to  be  due  to  a  superficial  association  with  the  surround- 
ing polarized  ethereal  atoms,  while  that  of  iron  filings,  by  a 
magnet  or  galvanized  wire,  is  conceived  to  arise  from  the 
influence  of  polarized  ethereo-ponderable  atoms,  consisting  of 
ethereal  and  ponderable  matter  in  a  state  of  combination. 

Faradian  discharges  are  as  truly  the  effects  of  ethereo- 
ponderable  polarization,  as  those  from  an  electrified  conduc- 
tor, or  coated  surfaces  of  glass,  are  due  to  static  ethereal 
polarization.  .  .  . 

It  is  well  known  that  if  a  rod  of  iron  be  included  in  a  coil 
of  coated  copper  wire,  on  making  the  coil  the  medium  of  a 
voltaic  discharge,  the  wire  is  magnetized.  Agreeably  to  a 
communication  from  Joule,  in  the  L.  and  E.  Phil.  Mag. 
and  Journal  for  Feb.,  1847,  the  bar  is  at  the  same  time  length- 
ened, without  any  augmentation  of  bulk;  so  that  its  other 
dimensions  must  be  lessened  in  proportion  to  the  elongation. 

All  these  facts  tend  to  prove  that  a  change  in  the  relative 
position  of  the  constituent  ethereo-ponderable  atoms  of  iron, 
accompanies  its  magnetization,  either  as  an  immediate  cause, 
or  as  a  collateral  effect." 

Some  of  Hare's  leisure  was  given  to  social  intercourse, 
as  appears  from  the  following  letter  of  1848: 


444  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

"  Edgewood  near  Pelham  Post  Office 

„--     ,        C.1V  "Westchester  6  New  York. 

My  dear  Silliman: 

Mrs.  Hare  and  myself  are  making  a  visit  to  our  Daughter, 
Mrs.  Prime.  I  should  be  glad  to  hear  how  you  are,  and  how 
far  you  are  capable  of  giving  me  some  time  should  I  pay 
you  a  visit,  as  New  Haven  is  only  two  hours  from  this  place 
by  the  rail  way. 

I  should  like  to  find  your  son  at  home  if  I  am  still  to 
consider  New  Haven  as  his  home.  It  is  possible  that  Mrs. 
Hare  either  with  or  without  me  may  make  a  trip  to  Niagara 
this  summer  and  thence  to  Montreal  and  Quebec.  We  have 
also  a  visit  to  Miss  Gibbs  and  to  our  son  in  Maryland  in  con- 
templation. You  will  perceive  that  our  hands  are  full,  or 
more  properly  our  minds,  for  it  is  not  always  that  we  realize 
all  we  contemplate. 

I  sent  to  you  a  pamphlet  some  time  since  and  hoped  it 
reached  you.  Yours  faithfully 

ROBERT  HARE." 

It  is  further  quite  probable  that  it  was  during  the  visit 
just  indicated  that  he  wrote  in  great  part  or  perhaps  even 
completed  a  novel  called  "  Standish  the  Puritan/'  by  Eldred 
Grayson,  Esq.,  his  pen  name,  although  the  book  did  not  ap- 
pear in  print  until  1850.  It  was  published  by  Harper  and 
Brothers  of  New  York. 

It  is  a  tale  of  the  American  Revolution.  It  has  as  prom- 
inent characters,  about  whom  the  plot  is  mainly  developed, 
three  college  class  mates.  They  experience  all  sorts  of  ad- 
ventures and  changes  which  have  been  very  interestingly  de- 
picted. The  scenes  are  laid  about,  and  not  far  from,  New 
York  City.  The  story  occupies  320  pages. 

In  sketches  of  Hare,  in  encyclopedias,  it  is  often  said 
that  he  wrote  frequently  for  the  Portfolio  under  his  pen 
name.  Diligent  search  has  been  made  in  this  publication, 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  445 

but  nothing  of  a  certainty  discovered.  One  or  two  stories 
seem  to  the  writer  to  read  as  if  they  had  emanated  from  Hare. 
There  exist  those  ear-marks  which  would  indicate  this.  How- 
ever, it  was  thought  best  not  to  so  regard  them  for  fear  of 
making  a  mistake  or  doing  an  injustice  to  another  person. 

There  is  nowhere  any  evidence  of  the  manner  in  which 
Hare  became  interested  in  meteorological  phenomena.  How- 
ever, it  may  be  conjectured  that  his  constant  interest  in 
natural  phenomena  and  the  presence  of  electrical  conditions 
influenced  him.  Wherever  electricity  was  a  subject  of  dis- 
cussion; wherever  it  entered — there  it  was  pretty  certain  that 
his  thought  would  be  enlisted.  This  particular  chapter  in  his 
scientific  activities  is  somewhat  remote  from  chemistry,  but 
as  physics  also  received  his  homage,  these  particular  con- 
tributions should  not  be  passed  without  consideration. 

In  a  communication  (1822),1  his  first  probably,  relating 
to  meteorological  matters,  he  discussed  the  north-east  and 
north-west  winds.  To  abridge  this  communication  would  be 
to  mar  its  excellence,  so  it  appears  almost  in  extensor 

"  Of  the  gales  experienced  in  the  Atlantic  States  of  North 
America,"  he  said,  "  those  from  the  north-east  and  north- 
west are  by  far  the  most  influential ;  the  one  remarkable  for 
its  dryness;  the  other  for  its  humidity.  During  a  north- 
western gale,  the  sky,  unless  at  its  commencement,  is  always 
peculiarly  clear,  and  not  only  water,  but  ice  evaporates  rapidly. 
A  north-west  wind,  when  it  approaches  at  all  to  the  nature  of  a 
durable  gale,  is  always  accompanied  by  clouds,  and  usually 
by  rain  or  snow." 

For  this  striking  diversity  of  character  he  accounts  in  this 
way: 

"  When  to  the  lower  strata  of  a  non-elastic  fluid,  heat  is 
unequally  applied,  the  consequent  difference  of  density  (re- 
sulting from  the  unequal  expansion,)  soon  causes  movements, 

1  Jr.  Acad.  Natural  Sciences,  Phila. 


446  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

by  which  the  colder  portions  change  places  with  the  warmer. 
These  being  cooled,  resume  their  previous  situation,  and  are 
again  displaced  by  being  again  made  warmer.  Thus,  the 
temperature  reversing  the  situations,  and  these  reversing  the 
temperatures,  a  circulation  is  kept  up  tending  to  restore 
equilibrium.  Precisely  similar  would  be  the  case  with  our 
atmosphere,  were  it  not  an  elastic  fluid,  and  dependent  for 
its  density  on  pressure,  as  well  as  heat.  Its  temperature 
would  be  far  more  uniform  than  at  present,  and  all  its  varia- 
tions would  be  gradual.  An  interchange  of  position  would 
incessantly  take  place,  between  the  colder  air  of  the  upper 
regions,  and  the  warmer,  and  of  course  lighter  air  near  the 
earth's  surface,  where  the  most  heat  is  evolved  from  the  solar 
rays.  Currents  would  incessantly  set  from  the  poles  to  the 
equator  below,  and  from  the  equator  to  the  poles  above.  Such 
currents  would  constitute  our  only  winds,  unless  where  moun- 
tains might  produce  some  deviations.  Violent  gales,  squalls, 
or  tornadoes,  would  never  ensue.  Gentler  movements  would 
anticipate  them.  But  the  actual  character  of  the  air  with 
respect  to  elasticity,  is  diametrically  the  opposite  of  that  which 
we  have  supposed.  It  is  perfectly  elastic.  Its  density  is 
dependent  on  pressure,  as  well  as  on  heat,  and  it  does  not 
follow,  that  air  which  may  be  heated  in  consequence  of  its 
proximity  to  the  earth,  will  give  place  to  colder  air  from 
above.  The  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  varying  with  the 
elevation,  one  stratum  of  air  may  be  as  much  rarer  by  diminu- 
tion of  pressure,  consequent  to  its  altitude,  as  denser  by  the 
cold,  consequent  to  its  remoteness  from  the  earth,  another 
may  be  as  much  denser  by  the  increased  pressure  arising  from 
its  proximity  to  the  earth,  as  rarer  by  being  warmer.  Hence 
when  unequally  heated,  different  strata  of  the  atmosphere 
do  not  always  disturb  each  other.  Yet  after  a  time,  the  rare- 
faction in  the  lower  stratum,  by  greater  heat,  may  so  far  ex- 
ceed that  in  an  upper  stratum  attendant  on  an  inferior  degree 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  447 

of  pressure,  that  this  stratum  may  preponderate,  and  begin 
to  descend.  Whenever  such  a  movement  commences,  it  must 
proceed  with  increasing  velocity;  for  the  pressure  on  the 
upper  stratum  and  of  course  its  density  and  weight,  increases 
as  it  falls ;  while  the  density  and  weight  of  the  lower  stratum, 
must  lessen  as  it  rises.  Hence  the  change  is,  at  times,  so 
much  accelerated  as  to  assume  the  characteristics  of  a  tornado, 
squall  or  hurricane.  In  like  manner  may  we  suppose,  the 
predominant  gales  of  our  climate  to  originate.  Dr.  Franklin 
long  ago  noticed,  that  north-eastern  gales  are  felt  in  the 
south- westernmost  portions  of  the  continent  first,  the  time  of 
their  commencement  being  found  later,  as  the  place  of  ob- 
servation is  more  to  the  leeward.  This  need  not  surprise  us, 
as  it  is  evident  that  a  current  may  be  produced  either  by  a 
pressure  from  behind,  or  by  a  hiatus  consequent  to  a  removal 
of  a  portion  of  the  fluid  from  before. 

The  Gulf  of  Mexico  is  an  immense  body  of  water,  warm 
in  the  first  place  by  its  latitude,  in  the  second  place  by  its 
being  a  receptacle  of  the  current  produced  by  the  trade  winds, 
which  blow  in  such  a  direction  as  to  propel  the  warm  water 
of  the  torrid  zone  into  it,  causing  it  to  overflow  and  produce 
the  celebrated  Gulf  Stream,  by  the  ejection  to  the  north- 
east, of  the  excess  received  from  the  south-east.  This  stream 
runs  away  to  the  northward  and  eastward  of  the  United 
States,  producing  an  unnatural  warmth  in  the  ocean,  as  well 
as  an  impetus,  which  according  to  Humboldt,  is  not  expended 
until  the  current  reaches  the  shores  of  Africa,  and  even  mixes 
with  the  parent  flood  under  the  equator.  The  head  of  the 
Gulf  Stream  enables  mariners  to  ascertain  by  the  thermom- 
eter when  they  have  entered  it :  and  in  winter  this  heat,  by  in- 
creasing the  solvent  power  of  the  adjoining  air,  loads  it  with 
moisture,  is  precipitated  in  those  well  known  fogs,  with  which 
the  north-eastern  portion  of  our  continent,  and  the  neighbor- 
ing seas  and  islands,  especially  Newfoundland  and  its  banks, 


448  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

are  so  much  infested.  An  accumulation  of  warm  water  in  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  adequate  thus  to  influence  the  ocean  at  the 
distance  of  2000  miles,  may  be  expected  in  its  vicinity  to  have 
effects  proportionably  powerful.  The  air  immediately  over  the 
Gulf  must  be  heated,  and  surcharged  with  aqueous  particles. 

Thus  it  will  become  comparatively  light;  first  because  it 
is  comparatively  warm,  and  in  the  next  place  because  aqueous 
vapour,  being  much  lighter  than  the  atmospheric  air,  causes 
levity  by  its  admixture. 

Yet  the  density  arising  from  inferiority  of  situation  in 
the  stratum  of  air  immediately  over  the  Gulf,  compared  with 
that  of  the  volumes  of  the  fluid  lying  upon  the  mountainous 
country  beyond  it,  may  to  a  certain  extent,  more  than  make 
up  for  the  influence  of  the  heat  and  moisture  derived  from 
the  Gulf:  but  violent  winds  must  arise  so  soon  as  these 
causes  predominate  over  atmospheric  pressure,  so  far  as  to 
admit  the  cold  air  of  the  mountains  to  be  heavier. 

When  instead  of  the  air  covering  a  small  portion  of  the 
mountainous  or  table  land  in  Spanish  America,  that  of  the 
whole  north-eastern  portion  of  the  North  American  con- 
tinent, is  excited  into  motion,  the  effects  cannot  but  be  equally 
powerful,  and  much  more  permanent.  The  air  of  the  adjoin- 
ing country  first  precipitates  itself  upon  the  surface  of  the 
Gulf,  then  that  from  more  distant  parts.  Thus  a  current 
from  the  north-eastward  is  produced  below.  In  the  interim 
the  air  displaced  by  this  current  rises,  and  being  confined  by 
the  high  land  of  Spanish  America,  and  in  part  possibly  by 
the  trade  winds,  from  passing  off  in  any  southerly  course,  it 
is  of  necessity  forced  to  proceed  over  our  part  of  the  continent, 
forming  a  south-western  current  above  us.  At  the  same 
time,  its  capacity  for  heat  being  increased  by  the  rarefaction 
arising  from  its  altitude,  much  of  its  moisture  will  be  pre- 
cipitated, and  the  lower  stratum  of  the  south-western  cur- 
rent mixing  with  the  upper  stratum  of  the  cold  north-eastern 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  449 

current  below,  there  must  be  a  prodigious  condensation  of 
aqueous  vapour.  If  it  be  demanded,  wherefore  does  this 
change  produce  north-eastern  gales  only,  why  have  we  not 
northern  gales  accompanied  by  the  same  phenomena?  the 
answer  is  obvious.  The  course  of  our  mountains  is  from  the 
north-east  to  the  south-west.  Thus  no  channel  is  afforded 
for  air  proceeding  to  the  Gulf  in  any  other  course  than  that 
north-eastern  route  which  it  actually  pursues.  The  compe- 
tency of  the  high  lands  of  Mexico  to  prevent  the  escape  over 
them  of  the  moist  warm  air  displaced  from  the  surface  of 
the  Gulf,  must  be  evident,  from  the  peculiar  dryness  of  their 
climate;  and  the  evidence  of  Humboldt.  According  to  this 
celebrated  traveller,  the  clouds  formed  over  the  Gulf,  never 
rise  to  a  greater  height  than  four  thousand  nine  hundred  feet, 
while  the  table  land  for  many  hundred  leagues  lies  between 
the  elevation  of  seven  and  nine  thousand  feet.  Consistently 
with  the  chemical  laws,  which  have  been  experimentally  ascer- 
tained to  operate  throughout  nature,  air  which  has  been  in 
contact  with  water,  can  neither  be  cooled  nor  rarefied  without 
being  rendered  cloudy  by  the  precipitation  of  aqueous  par- 
ticles. It  follows  then,  that  the  air  displaced  suddenly  from 
the  surface  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  by  the  influx  of  cold  air 
from  the  north-east,  never  rises  higher  than  the  elevation  men- 
tioned by  Humboldt  as  infested  by  clouds.  Of  course,  it  never 
crosses  the  table  land  which  at  the  lowest  is  2000  feet  higher. 
Our  north-western  winds  are  produced,  no  doubt,  by  the 
accumulation  of  warm  moist  air  upon  the  surface  of  the  ocean, 
as  those  from  the  north-east  are  by  its  accumulation  on  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  But  in  the  case  of  the  Atlantic,  there  are 
no  mountains  to  roll  back  upon  our  hemisphere  the  air  dis- 
placed by  the  gales  which  proceed  from  it,  and  to  impede  the 
impulse  thus  received,  from  reaching  to  the  shores  of  Europe. 
Our  own  mountains  may  procrastinate  the  flood,  and  cause 
it  to  be  more  lasting  and  more  terrific  when  it  ensues.  The 


450  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

course  of  the  wind  is  naturally  perpendicular  to  the  boundary 
of  the  aquatic  region  producing  it,  and  to  the  mountainous 
barrier  which  delays  the  crises.  The  course  of  the  North 
American  continent  is  like  that  of  its  mountains,  from  north- 
east to  south-west,  and  the  gales  in  question  are  always  nearly 
north-west,  or  at  right  angles  to  the  mountains  and  the  coasts. 
The  dryness  of  our  north-west  may  be  ascribed  not  only  to 
its  coming  from  the  frozen  zone,  where  cold  deprives  the 
air  of  moisture,  but  likewise  to  the  circumstance  above  sug- 
gested, that  the  air  of  the  ocean  is  not  like  that  of  the  Gulf, 
forced  back  over  our  heads  to  deluge  us  with  rain. 

Other  important  applications  may  be  made  of  our  chem- 
ical knowledge.  Thus  in  the  immense  capacity  of  water  for 
heat,  especially  when  vapourized,  we  see  a  great  magazine  of 
nature  provided  for  mitigating  the  severity  of  the  winter. 
To  cool  this  fluid,  a  much  greater  quantity  of  matter  must  be 
equally  refrigerated.  Aqueous  vapour  is  an  incessant  ve- 
hicle for  conveying  the  caloric  of  warmer  climates  to  colder 
ones.  Mistaking  the  effects  for  the  cause,  snow  is  considered 
as  producing  cold  by  the  ignorant;  but  it  has  been  proved 
that  as  much  heat  is  given  out  during  the  condensation  of 
aqueous  vapour,  as  would  raise  twice  its  weight  of  glass  to  a 
red  heat.  Water,  in  condensing  from  the  aeriform  state, 
will  raise  ten  times  its  bulk  one  hundred  degrees.  The  quan- 
tum of  caloric  which  can  raise  ten  bulks  100  degrees,  would 
raise  one  bulk  1000  degrees  nearly  ( or  to  a  red  heat  visible  in 
the  day)  and  this  is  independent  of  the  caloric  fluidity,  which 
would  increase  the  result. 

Further,  the  quantum  of  heat  which  would  raise  water  to 
1000,  would  elevate  an  equal  bulk  of  glass  to  2000.  Hence 
we  may  infer,  that  from  every  snow,  there  is  received  twice 
as  much  caloric  as  would  be  yielded  by  a  like  stratum  of  red 
hot  powdered  glass. 

It  is  thus  that  the  turbulent  wave,  which  at  one  moment 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  451 

rocks  the  mariner's  sea-boat,  on  the  border  of  the  torrid  zone, 
transformed  into  a  cloud  and  borne  away  towards  the  arctic, 
soon  after  supports  the  sledge  or  the  snow-shoe  of  an  Esqui- 
maux or  Greenlander;  successively  cooling  or  warming  the 
surrounding  media,  by  absorbing  or  giving  out  the  material 
cause  of  heat." 

The  next  subject  to  engage  his  attention  was  tornadoes. 
In  July  of  1837  a  terrific  tornado  occurred  at  Perth  Amboy, 
N.  J.  Its  effects  had  been  observed  by  Profs.  Henry,  Tor- 
rey,  Johnston,  A.  D.  Bache  and  Espy.  Hare  himself  visited 
the  scene  and  wrote  "  after  maturely  considering  all  the  facts, 
I  am  led  to  suggest  that  a  tornado  is  the  effect  of  an  elec- 
trified current  of  air,  superseding  the  more  usual  means  of  dis- 
charge between  the  earth  and  clouds  in  those  sparks  or  flashes 
which  are  called  lightning.  I  conceive  that  the  inevitable  ef- 
fect of  such  a  current  would  be  to  counteract  within  its  sphere 
the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere,  and  thus  enable  the  fluid,  in 
obedience  to  its  elasticity,  to  rush  into  the  rare  medium  above. 

It  will,  I  believe,  be  admitted  that  whenever  there  is  suffi- 
cient electricity  generated  to  afford  a  succession  of  sparks, 
the  quantity  must  be  sufficient  under  favorable  circumstances, 
to  be  productive  of  an  electrical  current ;  and  that  light  bodies, 
lying  upon  one  of  the  electrified  surfaces  may  be  attached 
more  or  less  by  the  other." 

And  of  the  tornado  which  in  August,  1838,  passed  over 
Providence,  R.  I.,  he  concluded  its  characteristics  to  be  quite 
similar  to  those  of  the  tornado  which  had  previously  fallen 
upon  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.;  and  that  they  fully  justified 
his  "  opinion  that  the  exciting  cause  of  tornadoes  is  electrical 
attraction."  The  tornado  in  Philadelphia,  on  July  13, 1840, 
was  due  in  his  opinion  to  electricity  as  the  principal  reagent 
in  the  production  of  the  observed  phenomena.  And  in  a 
verbal  communication  before  the  American  Philosophical 
Society  (1840)  he  told  how  Peltier,  commenting  on  a  tor- 


452  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

nado  which  visited  Paris  in  July  of  that  year,  said  a  tornado 
is  a  thunder  gust  in  which  the  electricity,  instead  of  appear- 
ing as  lightning,  passed  through  a  cloud,  acting  as  a  con- 
ductor between  the  earth's  surface  and  the  sky.  This  view 
differed  little  from  that  submitted  some  time  before  by  Hare 
to  the  Society.  The  only  difference,  said  Hare,  was  "  that 
the  Parisian  philosopher  omitted  to  call  in  the  electricity  of 
the  air  in  the  aid  of  the  electrical  forces,  and  his  assigning 
to  a  cloud  the  agency  which  he  (Hare)  had  attributed  to  a 
vertical  blast  of  electrified  air,  mingled  with  every  species 
of  movable  matter  coming  within  the  grasp  of  the  meteor." 
Hare  contended  that  Peltier  had  misapprehended  his  theory. 
This  he  thought  probably  due  to  Peltier's  ignorance  of  Eng- 
lish. He  further  said: 

"  During  an  examination  of  the  track  of  the  tornado 
which  ravaged  the  suburbs  of  New  Haven,  he  had  been  led 
to  infer  that  the  electrical  discharge  was  concentrated  upon 
particular  bodies,  according  to  their  character,  or  the  con- 
ducting nature  of  the  soil;  so  that  the  vertical  force  arising 
from  electrical  reaction,  and  the  elasticity  of  the  air,  acted 
upon  them  with  peculiar  force.  Hence,  while  some  trees 
were  borne  aloft,  others,  which  were  situated  very  near  them, 
on  either  side,  remained  rooted  in  the  soil.  In  two  instances 
at  New  Haven,  wagons  were  especially  the  victims  of  the 
electro-aerial  conflict.  In  the  case  of  one  of  these,  the  axle- 
tree  was  broken,  and  while  one  wheel  was  carried  into  an 
adjoining  field,  the  other  was  driven  with  so  much  force 
against  the  weather-boarding  of  a  barn,  as  to  leave  both  a 
mark  of  the  projecting  hub,  and  of  the  greater  portion  of 
the  periphery.  The  plates  of  the  elliptical  spring  were  sep- 
arated from  each  other.  During  the  tornado  at  New  Bruns- 
wick, the  injury  done  to  some  wagons  in  the  shop  of  a  coach- 
maker,  appeared,  at  the  time,  inexplicable.  Now  he  inferred, 
that  the  four  iron  wheel  tires,  caused,  by  their  immense  con- 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  453 

ducting  power,  a  confluence  of  the  electric  fluid,  producing 
a  transient  explosive  rarefaction,  and  a  subsequent  afflux 
of  air  with  a  local  gyration  of  extreme  violence. 

It  may  be  reasonably  surmised,  that  the  excessive  injury 
done  to  trees  results,  not  from  the  general  whirl,  but  from 
a  local  gyration  to  which  they  are  subjected,  in  consequence 
of  the  multiplicity  of  points  which  their  twigs  and  leaves  fur- 
nish for  the  emission  of  the  electrical  fluid.  The  fact  that 
the  leaves  of  trees  thus  injured,  appear  afterwards  as  if  they 
had  been  partially  scorched,  seems  to  countenance  this  idea. 
The  twisting  of  the  chimney  at  New  Brunswick,  seems  diffi- 
cult to  explain,  agreeably  to  the  idea  of  a  general  whirl 
throughout  the  whole  area  of  the  tornado  track.  The  chances 
are  infinitely  against  any  chimney  having  its  axis  to  coincide 
with  that  of  a  great  whirlwind,  forming  a  tornado;  and  it 
must  be  evident,  that  in  any  other  position,  it  could  only 
be  subjected  to  the  rotary  force  on  one  side  at  a  time.  But 
if  this  were  adequate  to  twist  the  upper  upon  the  residual 
portion,  the  former  would  necessarily  be  overthrown.  Evi- 
dently, it  could  not  be  left,  as  was  the  chimney. 

During  the  tornado  at  New  Haven,  chimneys  seemed  to 
be  especially  affected.  One,  after  being  lifted,  was  allowed 
to  fall  upon  a  portion  of  the  roof  of  the  house  to  which  it 
belonged,  at  a  distance  from  its  previous  situation  too  great 
to  have  been  reached  had  it  been  merely  overthrown.  In 
the  case  of  a  church  which  was  demolished,  a  portion  of  the 
chimney  was  carried  to  a  distance  greater  than  it  could  have 
reached  without  being  lifted  by  a  vertical  force. 

It  appeared  quite  consistent  that  chimneys  should  be 
particularly  assailed,  since  that  rarefaction,  which,  by  oper- 
ating upon  the  roofs  of  houses,  carries  them  away,  must 
previously  cause  a  great  rush  of  air  through  the  chimney 
flues.  But  this  concentration  of  the  air  must  tend  to  facili- 
tate the  "connective"  discharge  in  that  direction,  since  an  elec- 


454  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

trical  discharge  by  a  blast  of  air,  is  always  promoted  by  any 
mechanical  peculiarities  favouring  an  aerial  current,  or  jet. 

That  in  the  tornado  in  France,  articles  were  carried  from 
the  inside  of  a  locked  chamber  to  a  distance  without,  when  no 
opening  existed  besides  that  afforded  by  a  chimney,  seemed 
to  justify  the  suggestion,  that  there  must  be  a  great  rush  of 
air  through  such  openings. 

Hare  also  remarked  on  the  aurora  which  occurred  on  the 
third  of  September,  in  which  he  suggested  that  the  electric 
fluid  producing  the  phenomena  then  observed  might  have 
been  derived  from  remote  parts  of  space. 

Hare  was  so  much  interested  in  the  tornado  problem  that 
he  had  translated  his  own  views  into  a  communication  that 
he  sent  to  each  member  of  the  National  Institute.  This  he 
did  to  show  that  Peltier's  ideas  were  essentially  identical 
with  his  own  and  that  Peltier  was  incorrect  in  declaring 
Hare's  hypothesis  as  defective. 

Again  Hare  reported  on  the  effect  of  the  rarefaction 
of  air,  on  its  desiccation  and  refrigeration,  and  on  other  phe- 
nomena connected  with  the  presence  of  aqueous  vapour  in 
the  atmosphere.  He  also  detailed  some  experiments,  show- 
ing that  the  phenomena  of  air,  heated  by  re-entering  a  re- 
ceiver partially  exhausted,  were  more  consistent,  in  some 
respects,  with  the  idea  that  a  vacuum  has  a  capacity  for  heat, 
than  that  it  is  destitute  of  any  appropriate  portion  of  caloric. 

He  adverted  to  the  fact,  that  in  an  essay,  published  in 
1822,  he  had,  agreeably  to  the  authority  of  Dalton  and  Davy, 
stated,  that  the  cold  consequent  on  the  rarefaction  of  air  in 
its  ascent  towards  the  upper  strata  of  the  atmosphere,  was 
one  of  the  causes  of  the  formation  of  clouds ;  and  in  his  text 
books  he  had  soon  after  published  an  engraving  of  an  ap- 
paratus, by  means  of  which  he  was  accustomed  to  illustrate, 
before  his  pupils,  the  transient  cloud  which  arises  from  a 
diminution  of  pressure  in  air  containing  aqueous  vapour. 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  455 

He  had  alleged,  that  as  much  caloric  was  given  out  by 
aqueous  vapour,  during  its  conversion  into  snow,  as  would 
be  yielded  by  twice  the  weight  of  red-hot  powdered  glass. 
But  Mr.  Espy,  he  considered,  had  the  merit  of  being  the  first 
to  suggest,  that  the  heat,  thus  evolved,  might  be  an  impor- 
tant instrument  in  causing  a  buoyancy  tending  to  accelerate 
any  upward  current  of  warm  moist  air. 

Hare  was  willing  to  admit,  that  this  transfer  of  heat 
might  co-operate  with  other  causes  in  the  production  of 
storms,  but  could  not  concur  with  Espy  in  considering  it 
competent  to  give  rise  to  thunder  gusts,  tornadoes,  or  hur- 
ricanes. These  he  had  considered,  and  still  considered,  to 
be  mainly  owing  to  electrical  discharges  between  the  earth 
and  the  sky ;  or  between  one  mass  of  clouds  and  another. 

With  a  view  to  a  more  accurate  estimate  of  the  compara- 
tive influence  or  rarefaction  and  condensation,  in  causing  evo- 
lution of  heat  in  dry  air,  and  in  air  replete  with  aqueous 
vapour,  he  had  performed  a  number  of  experiments,  of 
which  he  proceeded  to  give  a  description. 

Large  globes,  each  containing  about  a  cubic  foot  of  space, 
furnished  with  thermometers  and  hygrometers,  were  made  to 
communicate,  respectively,  with  reservoirs  of  perfectly  dry 
air,  and  of  air  replete  with  aqueous  vapour.  The  cold,  ulti- 
mately acquired  by  any  degree  of  rarefaction,  appeared  to  be 
the  same,  whether  the  air  was  in  the  one  state  or  the  other ;  pro- 
vided that  the  air,  replete  with  aqueous  vapour,  was  not  in  con- 
tact with  liquid  water  in  the  vessel  subjected  to  exhaustion. 
When  water  was  present,  in  consequence  of  the  formation  of 
additional  vapour,  and  a  consequent  absorption  of  caloric,  the 
cold  produced  was  nearly  twice  as  great  as  when  the  air  was 
not  in  contact  with  liquid  water;  being  nearly  as  9  to  5. 

Under  the  circumstances  last  mentioned,  the  hygrometer 
was  motionless ;  whereas,  when  no  liquid  water  was  accessible, 
the  space,  although  previously  saturated  with  vapour,  by  the 


456  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

removal  of  a  portion  of  it  together  with  the  air  which  is 
withdrawn  by  the  exhaustion  acquires  a  capacity  for  more 
vapour;  and  hence  the  hygrometer,  by  an  abstraction  of  one- 
third  of  the  air,  resolved  more  than  sixty  degrees  towards  dry- 
ness.  But  when  a  smaller  receiver  (after  being  subjected  to  a 
diminution  of  pressure  of  about  ten  inches  of  mercury,  as  to 
cause  the  index  of  the  hygrometer  to  move  about  thirty-five 
degrees  toward  dryness)  was  surrounded  by  a  freezing  mix- 
ture, until  a  thermometer  in  the  axis  of  the  receiver  stood  at 
three  degrees  below  freezing,  the  hygrometer  revolved  to- 
wards dampness,  until  it  went  about  ten  degrees  beyond  the 
point  at  which  it  rested  when  the  process  commenced. 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  dryness  produced  by  the 
degree  of  rarefaction  employed  is  more  than  counterbalanced 
by  a  freezing  temperature. 

As  respects  the  heat  imparted  to  the  air  above  mentioned, 
the  fact,  that  the  ultimate  refrigeration  in  the  case  of  air 
replete  with  vapour,  and  in  that  of  anhydrous  air,  was  equally 
great,  and  that  when  water  was  present  the  cold  was  greater 
in  the  damp  vessel,  led  to  the  idea,  that  the  heat  arising  under 
such  circumstances  could  not  have  much  efficacy  in  augment- 
ing the  buoyancy  of  an  ascending  column  of  air;  but  when, 
by  an  appropriate  mechanism,  the  refrigeration  was  meas- 
ured by  the  difference  of  pressure  at  the  moment  when  the 
exhaustion  was  arrested,  and  when  the  thermometer  had  be- 
come stationary,  it  was  found  caeteris  paribus,  that  the  re- 
duction or  pressure  arising  from  cold  was  at  least  one-half 
greater  in  the  anhydrous  air,  than  in  the  air  replete  with 
vapour.  This  difference  seems  to  be  owing  to  a  loan  of 
latent  heat  made  by  the  contained  moisture,  or  transferred 
from  the  apparatus,  by  its  intervention,  which  checks  the 
refrigeration;  yet  ultimately,  the  whole  of  the  moisture  being 
converted  into  vapour,  the  aggregate  refrigeration  does  not 
differ  in  the  two  cases. 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  457 

When  air,  replete  with  aqueous  vapour,  was  admitted 
into  a  receiver  partially  exhausted,  and  containing  liquid 
water,  a  copious  precipitation  of  moisture  ensued,  and  a 
rise  of  temperature  greater  than  when  perfectly  dry  air  was 
allowed  to  enter  a  vessel  containing  rarefied  air  in  the  same 
state.  In  the  instance  first  mentioned,  a  portion  of  vapour 
rises  into  the  place  of  that  which  is  withdrawn  during  the 
partial  exhaustion.  Hence  when  the  air,  containing  its  full 
proportion  of  vapour,  enters,  there  is  an  excess  of  vapour 
which  must  precipitate,  causing  a  cloud,  and  an  evolution 
of  latent  heat  from  the  aqueous  particles  previously  in  the 
aeriform  state.  Hare  conceived  that  as  the  enlargement 
of  the  space  occupied  by  a  sponge,  allows,  proportionally,  a 
larger  quantity  of  any  liquid  to  enter  its  cells,  so  any  rare- 
faction of  the  air  when  in  contact  with  water,  consequent  on 
increase  of  heat  or  diminution  of  pressure,  permits  a  pro- 
portionably  larger  volume  of  vapour  to  associate  itself  with 
a  given  weight  of  the  air.  When,  subsequently,  by  the  afflux 
of  wind  replete  with  aqueous  vapour,  the  density  of  the 
aggregate  is  increased,  a  portion  of  the  vapour  equivalent 
to  the  condensation  must  be  condensed,  giving  out  latent 
heat,  excepting  so  far  as  the  heat  thus  evolved,  being  retained 
by  the  air,  raises  the  dew  point. 

Hence,  whenever  a  diminution  of  density  of  the  air  in- 
land causes  an  influx  of  sea  air  to  restore  the  equilibrium, 
there  may  result  a  condensation  of  aqueous  vapour,  and  evo- 
lution of  heat,  tending  to  promote  an  ascending  current. 
This  process  being  followed  by  that  which  Espy  pointed  out, 
of  the  transfer  of  heat  from  vapour  to  air,  during  its  ascent 
to  the  region  of  the  clouds,  and  consequent  precipitation  of 
moisture,  might,  Hare  thought,  be  among  the  efficient  causes 
of  those  non-electrical  rain  storms,  during  which  the  water 
of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  or  of  the  Atlantic,  is  transferred  to 
the  soil  of  the  United  States. 


458  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

Hare  mentioned  some  additional  experiments  made  by 
him  respecting  the  increase  of  temperature  resulting  from 
the  admission  of  dry  air  into  an  exhausted  receiver.  When 
the  receiver  was  exhausted  so  as  to  reduce  the  interior  pres- 
sure to  one-fourth  of  that  of  the  atmosphere,  and  one-fourth 
was  suddenly  admitted,  so  as  to  reduce  a  gauge  from  about 
22 ]/2  inches  to  15  inches,  heat  was  produced;  and  however 
the  ratio  of  the  entering  air  to  the  residual  portion  was  varied, 
still  there  was  a  similar  result. 

When  the  cavity  of  the  receiver  was  supplied  with  the 
vapour  of  ether  or  with  that  of  water,  so  as  to  form,  accord- 
ing to  the  Daltonian  hypothesis,  a  vacuum  for  the  admitted 
air,  still  heat  was  produced  by  the  latter,  however  small  might 
be  the  quantity,  or  rapid  the  readmission.  When  the  receiver 
was  exhausted,  until  the  tension  was  less  than  that  of  aqueous 
vapour  at  the  existing  temperature,  so  as  to  cause  the  water 
to  boil,  as  in  the  Cryophorus,  or  Leslie's  experiment,  still  the 
entrance  of  -^-  of  the  quantity  requisite  to  fill  the  receiver 
caused  the  thermometer  to  rise  a  tenth  of  a  degree.  An 
alternate  motion  of  the  key  of  the  cock,  through  one-fourth 
of  a  circle,  within  one-third  of  a  second  of  time,  was  adequate 
to  produce  the  change  last  mentioned. 

He  considered  the  fact,  that  heat  is  produced,  when  to 
air,  rarefied  to  one-fourth  of  the  atmospheric  density,  another 
fourth  is  added,  irreconcilable  with  the  idea,  that  this  result 
arises  from  the  compression  of  the  portion  of  air  previously 
occupying  the  cavity,  since  the  entering  air  must  be  as  much 
expended  as  the  residual  portion  is  condensed. 

As,  agreeable  to  Dalton,  a  cavity  occupied  by  a  vapour 
acts  as  a  vacuum  to  any  air  which  may  be  introduced,  Hare 
argued,  that  when  a  receiver,  after  being  supplied  with  ether 
or  water,  is  exhausted  so  as  to  remove  all  the  air  and  leave 
nothing  besides  aqueous  or  ethereal  vapour,  the  heat,  acquired 
by  air  admitted,  cannot  be  ascribed,  consistently,  to  the  con- 
densation of  the  vapour. 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  459 

These  facts,  he  added,  are  not  reconcilable  with  the  idea 
of  De  la  Rive  and  Marcet,  that  the  first  portion  of  the  enter- 
ing air  is  productive  of  cold,  although  a  subsequent  con- 
densation is  productive  of  an  opposite  change.  The  effect 
upon  the  thermometer  was  too  rapid,  and  the  quantity  of  the 
entering  air  too  minute,  to  allow  it  to  be  refrigerated  by  rare- 
faction in  the  first  place,  and  yet  afterwards  to  be  so  much 
condensed  as  to  become  warm  by  the  evolution  of  caloric. 

Notwithstanding  the  experiments  of  Gay  Lussac  and  of 
those  of  De  la  Rive  and  Marcet,  there  appeared  to  him  to  be 
evidence  in  favour  of  the  heat  being  due  to  the  space,  rather 
than  to  the  air  which  it  contained. 

With  respect  to  Gay  Lussac's  celebrated  experiment  with 
the  Torricellian  vacuum,  supposing  such  a  vacuum  to  be  a 
pre-eminently  good  liberator  of  heat,  as  it  ought  in  reason 
to  be,  the  caloric  would  be  absorbed  by  the  mercury  as  rapidly 
as  this  metal  could  be  made  to  encroach  upon  the  space 
occupied  by  the  calorific  particles. 

Admitting  that,  for  equal  weights,  the  specific  heat  of 
air  is  seven  times  as  great  as  that  of  mercury,  there  could 
not  have  been  a  capacity  greater  than  that  of  about  200 
grains  of  the  metal,  whereas  a  very  small  stratum  of  this 
metal,  equal  to  one- fourth  of  an  inch  would,  in  the  apparatus 
employed,  amount  to  more  than  a  pound. 

The  rapidity  with  which  a  mercurial  thermometer  is 
affected  by  the  changes  of  temperature,  in  experiments  like 
those  which  he  had  been  describing,  showed  in  Hare's  opinion, 
that  there  was  something  not  yet  understood  respecting  the 
transfer  of  heat  in  such  cases.  It  was  hardly  reconcilable 
with  the  process  of  conduction  or  circulation,  as  ordinarily 
understood. 

In  the  experiments  of  De  la  Rive  and  Marcet,  in  which 
the  entering  air  being  made  to  impinge  upon  the  bulb  of  a 
thermometer,  was  productive  of  a  fall  in  the  thermometric 


460  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

column,  it  might  be  inferred,  he  conceived,  that  the  bulb 
interfered  with  the  access  of  caloric  from  the  space.  It  was 
in  fact  the  bulb  upon  which  the  air  acted  previously  to  its 
distribution  in  the  space  where  it  could  have  encountered 
the  due  proportion  of  caloric." 

At  another  time  he  referred  to  observations  on  the  sus- 
pension of  clouds  "made  by  me  last  summer  (1841)  in 
Switzerland,"  when  he  gave  as  his  opinion  that  "  clouds  were 
constantly  forming  and  dissolving  masses  of  vapour."  He 
remarked  that  "  although  there  were  occasionally  two  differ- 
ent sets  of  clouds  pertaining  severally  to  different  currents 
of  air,  one  above  the  other, — usually,  in  fair  weather,  there 
was  but  one  set.  In  either  case  all  the  clouds  belonging  to 
one  current  are  seen  to  be  situated  somewhere  between  two 
levels.  Above  the  space,  included  between  these  levels,  none 
are  seen  to  rise ;  nor  are  any  observed  to  sink  below  its  lower 
boundary.  It  was  conceived  that  the  causes  of  this  per- 
sistence of  the  clouds  between  two  horizontal  planes,  of  which 
the  lower  one  is  usually  more  than  a  mile  in  height,  had  never 
been  satisfactorily  assigned. 

Agreeably  to  the  prevalent  impression  that  clouds  are 
enduring  masses  of  condensed  aqueous  vapour,  their  specific 
gravity  ought  to  be  much  greater  than  that  of  the  subjacent 
cloudless  air,  over  which  they  swim;  since  the  little  watery 
bubbles  of  which  they  are  formed,  consist,  not  only  of  the 
air  with  which  they  are  inflated,  but  also  of  a  liquid  840  times 
as  heavy.  But  he  had  of  late  years  observed  that  clouds  are 
not  as  durable  as  generally  supposed.  On  the  contrary,  like 
the  steam  condensed  in  escaping  from  boiling  water,  they  are 
incessantly  forming  by  the  condensation  of  aqueous  vapour, 
and  disappearing  in  consequence  of  its  being  vaporized  again. 
A  cloud  may  appear  to  cling  to  the  brow  of  a  mountain, 
sometimes  for  more  than  an  hour;  when,  on  closer  examina- 
tion, it  may  be  discovered  that,  as  one  portion  appears, 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  461 

another  vanishes,  and  that  the  apparent  durability  is  due  to 
the  equality  of  the  causes  of  condensation  and  revaporiza- 
tion.  He  had  enjoyed  a  fine  opportunity  of  verifying  this 
view  of  the  subject,  when  involved  within  a  cloud  on  the 
summit  of  the  Rhigi.  It  was  quite  evident,  that  what  might, 
at  a  distance,  be  mistaken  for  an  enduring  mass  of  condensed 
moisture,  such  as  is  called  a  cloud,  was  really  due  to  a  current 
of  air,  saturated  with  aqueous  vapour,  which  was  rushing 
up  the  mountain  side.  As  this  current  reached  a  level  at 
which  the  temperature  was  below  its  dew  point,  the  contained 
vapour  was  converted  by  condensation  into  a  cloud ;  but  as  it 
attained  a  higher  level,  where  the  dew  point  was  sufficiently 
low  to  compensate  for  the  cold,  the  moisture  was  made  to 
resume  the  aeriform  state. 

As  in  condensing,  steam  relinquishes  as  much  heat  as 
would  make  it  red-hot,  if  retained  while  under  sufficient  pres- 
sure to  keep  it  in  the  liquid  state,  it  follows  that,  as  the  cloud 
is  formed,  the  temperature  of  the  air  with  which  it  is  asso- 
ciated is  raised  so  much  as  to  produce  a  buoyancy  which 
enables  it  to  float  or  even  to  ascend;  but  as  soon  as  it  reaches 
a  point  where  the  air  is  so  devoid  of  aqueous  vapour  as  to 
permit  it  to  be  revaporized,  a  proportionable  refrigeration 
and  increase  of  density  ensues.  Thus  the  buoyancy  pro- 
duced at  one  level,  is  compensated  by  a  commensurate  op- 
posite influence  at  another.  Of  course,  the  clouds  are  always 
seen  to  occupy  an  interval  between  two  horizontal  planes, 
one  above  the  other.  As  soon  as  the  aqueous  vapour  of  the 
air  rises  above  the  lower  plane  it  condenses ;  before  the  cloud 
thus  produced  can  get  beyond  the  upper  one  it  is  reconverted 
into  vapour. 

When  the  causes  of  condensation  are  more  potent  than 
those  of  revaporization,  rain  ensues ;  when  the  opposite  is  the 
case,  there  must  be  a  tendency  to  fair  weather. 

Although  of  opinion  that  in  hurricanes  and  other  violent 


462  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

rain  storms,  there  must  be  an  exchange  of  position  between 
the  lower  and  upper  strata  of  the  air,  he  conceived  that 
showers,  unaccompanied  by  gales  or  squalls,  were  to  be  ex- 
plained as  above  suggested. 

He  conceded  that  there  might  be  more  than  one  cause  for 
the  buoyancy  of  clouds,  for  Thomson,  he  said,  in  his  treatise 
respecting  Heat  and  Electricity,  suggested  electricity  as  a 
cause.  The  fact  demonstrated  by  the  experiment,  the  re- 
sults of  which  had  been  communicated  to  the  Society,  that 
moisture  does  not  render  air  a  conductor  of  electricity,  gives 
support  to  this  view  of  the  subject;  especially  since  it  has 
been  discovered,  that  in  condensing,  steam  becomes  highly 
electrified.  It  seems  inevitable  that  the  aqueous  globules, 
of  which  clouds  are  constituted,  must  separate  from  each 
other,  as  pith  balls  are  seen  to  do  when  similarly  excited; 
and  that  the  particles  of  air  with  which  they  are  associated 
must  be  similarly  actuated ;  hence  a  cause  of  rarefaction,  and 
of  course  of  buoyancy.  Another  cause  might  co-operate.  It 
is  known  that  radiation  of  heat,  which  causes  dew  and  some- 
times hoar-frost,  is  so  completely  checked  by  clouds,  that  the 
last  mentioned  phenomenon  never  takes  place  when  the  sky 
is  overcast.  Moreover,  it  is  known  that  the  solar  rays  pass 
through  the  air  without  imparting  heat,  until  intercepted  by 
solids  or  liquids.  It  follows  that  the  air  in  which  clouds  are 
situated,  will  be  warmer  than  that  above  and  below  them. 

Thus  radiant  heat  and  electricity  may  promote  their 
buoyancy;  nevertheless  their  persistency  between  two  levels 
must  be  ascribed  to  the  process  noticed  on  the  summit  of 
the  Rhigi. 

Espy  had  the  merit  of  drawing  the  attention  of  meteor- 
ologists more  strongly  to  the  fact,  previously  made  known 
by  Dalton  that,  although  cold  is  produced  by  the  rarefac- 
tion of  air  containing  vapour,  yet  the  reduction  of  tempera- 
ture is  less,  whenever  the  vapour  is  condensed,  than  it  would 
have  been  in  an  air  free  from  vapour. 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  463 

In  adopting  this  explanation  Hare  had  been  prompted 
by  his  knowledge  of  E spy's  suggestions  founded  on  those 
of  Dalton,  so  far  as  a  superior  temperature  had  been  ascribed 
to  the  air  containing  a  recent  cloud. 

In  the  year  1842  Redfield  entered  upon  a  study  of  storms. 
He  maintained  "  that  tornadoes  and  hurricanes  are  all  whirl- 
winds." Hare  contended  that  grave  improbabilities  were 
herein  involved,  because  in  explaining  them  by  reference  to 
the  "  simple  conditions  of  the  great  law  of  gravitation,"  the 
agency  of  electricity  is  neglected,  and  "  the  theory  of  calorific 
rarefaction  "  was  renounced.  Hare  declared  that  gravita- 
tion "  in  lieu  of  being  .  .  .  the  main  basis  of  winds  and 
storms,  tends  to  produce  that  equal  distribution  of  the  atmos- 
phere over  the  surface  of  the  globe  on  which  I  have  insisted." 
He  then  proceeds,  "  but  if  neither  gravity,  nor  calorific  ex- 
pansion, nor  electricity,  be  the  cause  of  winds,  by  what  are 
they  produced?  "  Redfield  replied  that  all  fluid  matter  has 
a  tendency  to  run  into  whirls  or  circuits,  when  subject  to  the 
influence  of  unequal  or  opposing  forces;  and  that,  in  this 
way,  a  rotative  movement  of  unmeasured  violence  is  some- 
times produced.  But,  argued  Hare,  if  this  be  true,  plainly 
whirlpools  or  vortices  of  some  kind,  ought  to  be  as  frequent 
in  the  ocean,  as  agreeably  to  your  observation,  they  are 
found  to  be  in  the  atmosphere.  .  .  .  There  are  few 
vortices  or  whirlpools  in  the  ocean,  because  there  are  in  very 
few  cases  ascending  currents,  to  supply  which  the  confluence 
of  the  surrounding  water  is  requisite.  .  .  .  The  conflict 
of  opposing  or  unequal  forces  does  not  produce  curvilinear 
motion  unless  there  be  a  successive  deflection  .  .  .  and 
Redfield  does  not  tell  us  how  these  unequal  or  opposing  forces 
are  generated  in  the  atmosphere.  He  simply  appeals  to ff cer- 
tain unequal  or  opposing  forces  by  which  a  rotative  move- 
ment of  unmeasurdble  violence  is  produced;  "  this  rotative 
movement,  although  alleged  to  be  an  effect  in  the  first  in- 


464  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

stance,  is  later  said  to  be  "  the  only  known  cause  of  violent 
and  destructive  winds  or  tempests."  Then  Hare  reiterates 
his  oft-declared  statement  "  that  the  proximate  cause  of  the 
phenomena  of  a  tornado  is  an  ascending  current  of  air,  and 
the  afflux  of  wind  from  all  points  of  the  compass  to  supply 
the  deficiency  thus  created."  In  this  view  he  and  Espy 
agreed,  but  differed  "  respecting  the  cause  of  the  diminution 
of  atmospheric  pressure  within  the  track  of  the  tornado, 
which  gives  rise  to  the  ascending  current."  Hare  regarded 
gyration  as  a  casual,  not  an  essential  feature  "  in  the  meteors 
in  question."  Espy  and  Bache  had  recorded  a  fact  irrecon- 
cilable with  a  general  whirling  motion,  and  Hare  cited  "  the 
statement  of  a  most  respectable  witness,  that  while  the  tor- 
nado at  Providence  was  crossing  the  river,  the  water  which 
had  risen  up  as  if  boiling  within  a  circle  of  about  three  hun- 
dred feet,  subsided  as  often  as  a  flash  of  lightning  took  place. 
Now  supposing  the  water  to  have  risen  by  a  deficit  of  pres- 
sure resulting  from  the  centrifugal  force  of  a  whirl,  how  could 
an  electrical  discharge  cause  it  to  subside?  "  And  Hare  con- 
tinues: "  I  have  already,  I  trust,  sufficiently  shown  that  the 
explanation  which  Redfield  dignifies  with  the  title  of  his 
"  theory  of  rotary  storms,"  amounts  to  no  more  than  this, 
that  certain  imaginary  nondescript  unequal  and  opposing 
forces  produce  atmospheric  gyrations,  that  these  gyrations 
by  their  consequent  centrifugal  force,  create  about  the  axis 
of  motion  a  deficit  of  pressure,  and  hence  the  awful  and 
destructive  violence  displayed  by  tornadoes  and  hurricanes. 

I  cannot  give  to  this  alleged  theory  the  smallest  impor- 
tance, while  the  unequal  and  opposing  forces,  on  which  it  is 
built,  exist  only  in  the  imagination  of  an  author  who  dis- 
claims the  agency  either  of  heat  or  electricity."  .  .  . 

I  cannot  help  thinking  that  as  respects  the  application 
of  his  "  rotary  theory  "  to  account  for  the  upward  movement 
which  appears  to  be  essential  to  tornadoes,  these  arguments 
will  amount  to  a  ""  reductio  ad  dbsurdum." 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  465 

So  far,  therefore,  as  Redfield's  observations  confirm  the 
idea  that  the  whirling  motion  in  tornadoes  quickens  towards 
the  centre,  it  tends  to  confirm  the  opinions  which  he  combats, 
and  to  refute  those  which  he  upholds. 

Although  the  efforts  which  I  have  made  to  show  that  the 
phenomena  of  tornadoes  and  hurricanes  arise  from  electrical 
reaction  should  not  be  successful,  I  think  it  will  be  conceded 
that  any  theory  of  storms  which  overlooks  the  part  performed 
by  electricity  must  be  extremely  defective. 

Both  by  Messrs.  Espy  and  Redfield  the  influence  of  this 
agent  in  meteorological  phenomena  is  entirely  disregarded, 
although  with  the  storms  which  have  been  especially  the  sub- 
ject of  their  lucubrations,  thunder  and  lightning  and  convec- 
tive  discharge  are  most  strikingly  associated." 

Redfield,  of  course,  replied  and  said  that,  among  other 
things,  the  pains  Hare  had  taken  to  confute  his  doctrines 
were  disproportional  to  the  low  estimation  in  which  he  pro- 
fessed to  hold  them;  but  Hare  proceeded  to  narrowly  study 
his  reply,  saying  "  the  author  alleges  that  in  the  absence  of 
reliable  facts  and  observations  "  in  support  of  my  objec- 
tions to  what  he  considers  as  the  "  established  character  of 
storms,"  he  had  hesitated  to  answer  them.  This  cannot  ex- 
cite surprise,  when  it  is  recollected  "  that  the  whole  modern 
meteorological  school,"  and  likewise  "  Sir  John  Herschel," 
are  accused  by  him  of  a  (C grand  error"  in  not  ascribing  all 
atmospheric  winds  "  solely  to  the  gravitating  power  as  con- 
nected  with  the  rotary  and  orbitual  motion  of  the  earth" 

For  this  denunciation  he  has  no  better  ground  than  that 
on  which  he  deems  his  theory  to  be  above  my  reach,  that  is 
to  say,  because  himself  and  others  have  made  some  observa- 
tions showing  that  in  certain  storms,  agreeably  to  log-book 
records,  certain  ships  have  had  the  wind  in  a  way  to  indicate 
gyration.  Being  under  the  impression,  that  in  many  in- 
stances no  better  answer  need  be  given  to  Redfield's  opinions 

30 


466  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

than  that  created  in  the  minds  of  scientific  readers  by  his 
own  language,  I  will  here  quote  his  denunciation  of  the 
opinions  of  the  meteorological  school  and  of  Herschel. 

"  The  grand  error  into  which  the  whole  school  of  meteor- 
ologists appears  to  have  fallen,  consists  in  ascribing  to  heat 
and  rarefaction  the  origin  and  support  of  the  great  atmos- 
pheric currents  which  are  found  to  prevail  over  a  great  por- 
tion of  the  globe."  *  oi  .  "An  adequate  and  undeniable 
cause  for  the  production  of  the  phenomena  ...  I  con- 
sider is  furnished  in  the  rotative  motion  of  the  earth  upon  its 
axis,  in  which  originate  the  centrifugal  and  other  modifying 
influences  of  the  gravitating  power,  which  must  always  oper- 
ate upon  the  great  oceans  of  fluid  and  aerial  matter,  which 
rest  upon  the  earth's  crust,  producing  of  necessity  those  great 
currents  to  which  we  have  alluded."  .  .  .  Speaking  of 
Sir  John  HerscheFs  explanation  of  the  trade  winds  and 
others,  Redfield  alleges,  "  Sir  John  has  however  erred,  like 
his  predecessors,  in  ascribing  mainly,  if  not  primarily,  to  heat 
and  rarefaction  those  results  which  should  have  been  ascribed 
solely  to  mechanical  gravitation  as  connected  with  the  rota- 
tive and  orbitual  motion  of  the  earth's  surface." 

Is  it  not  surprising,  asks  Hare,  that  it  did  not  occur  to 
the  author  of  these  remarks,  that  an  astronomer  so  eminent 
as  Sir  John  Herschel  would  be  less  likely  than  himself  to  be 
ignorant  of  any  atmospheric  influence  resulting  from  gravita- 
tion or  the  diurnal  and  annual  revolutions  of  our  planet — 
and  that  when  he  found  himself  in  opposition  to  the  whole 
school  of  meteorologists,  a  doubt  did  not  arise  whether  the 
"  grand  error  "  was  not  in  his  views  of  the  subject  instead  of 
that  which  they  had  taken? 

Redfield  alleges  "  in  his  reply  to  my  objections  that  it  is  an 
error  to  consider  him  as  rejecting  the  influence  of  heat."  It 
is  very  possible  that  his  opinions  may  have  changed  since  he 
read  my  "  objections  ";  but  that  he  did  reject  the  influence 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  467 

of  heat  when  the  preceding  and  following  opinions  were  pub- 
lished must  be  quite  evident. 

Mr.  Redfield  alleges  further  that  the  proper  enquiry  is 
What  are  storms?  not  How  are  storms  produced? 

Turning  from  an  endless  controversy  with  a  writer  with 
whom  I  differ  respecting  first  principles,  I  shall  address  my- 
self to  that  great  school  of  meteorologists  who  concur  with 
me  in  the  "  grand  error  "  of  considering  heat  and  electricity 
as  the  principal  agents  of  nature  in  the  production  of  storms, 
and  who  do  not  concur  with  Redfield  in  considering  gravita- 
tion and  the  earth's  annual  and  diurnal  motion  as  the  great 
destroyer  of  atmospheric  equilibrium.  So  far  as  it  may  con- 
duce to  truth,  I  shall  incidentally  notice  some  parts  of  Red- 
field's  reply ;  but  my  main  object  will  be  to  show  the  inconsist- 
ency of  his  theoretic  inferences  with  the  laws  of  nature,  and  the 
facts  and  observations  on  which  those  inferences  are  alleged 
to  be  founded.  To  follow  him  in  detail  through  all  the  misun- 
derstandings which  have  arisen,  and  which  would  inevitably 
arise  during  a  continued  controversy,  would  be  an  Ixion  task. 

I  do  not  deem  it  expedient  to  enter  upon  any  discussion 
as  to  the  competency  of  the  evidence  by  which  the  gyration 
of  storms  has  been  considered  as  proved.  By  Espy  that  has 
been  ably  contested.  I  have  given  some  reasons  for  doubt- 
ing the  accuracy  or  consistency  of  Redfield' s  representations, 
though  I  have  no  doubt  they  have  always  been  made  in  per- 
fect good  faith.  I  have  already  alleged,  that  were  gyration 
sufficiently  proved,  I  should  consider  it  as  an  effect  of  a  con- 
flux to  supply  an  upward  current  at  the  axis.  Yet  the  sur- 
vey of  the  New  Brunswick  tornado,  made  on  terra  firma,, 
with  the  aid  of  a  compass,  by  an  observer  so  skillful  and 
unbiased  as  Professor  Bache,  ought  to  outweigh  maritime 
observations,  made  in  many  cases  under  circumstances  of 
difficulty  and  danger.  In  like  manner  great  credit  should 
be  given  to  the  observations  collected  by  Professor  Loomis 


468  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

respecting  a  remarkable  inland  storm  of  December,  1836." 
"  Having  said  so  much  against  the  whirlwind  theory  of 
storms,  it  may  be  expected  that  I  should  on  this  occasion, 
say  something  respecting  the  opinions  which  I  entertain  of 
their  origin.  To  a  certain  extent  this  will  be  found  in  my 
communications  published  in  the  Am.  Jr.  Science,  Vol. 
XXXII,  p.  153,  Vol.  XL,  p.  137,  also  in  my  essay  on  the 
gales  of  the  United  States  (p.  445).  I  still  believe  that 
north-eastern  gales  were  correctly  represented  in  the  last 
mentioned  essay  as  arising  from  an  exchange  of  position 
made  between  the  air  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  that  of  the 
territory  of  the  United  States  which  lies  to  the  north-east  of 
that  great  estuary;  and  that  the  heat  given  out  during  the 
conversion  of  aqueous  vapour  into  rain,  by  imparting  to  the 
atmosphere  as  much  caloric  as  could  be  yielded  by  twice  its 
weight  of  red  hot  sand,  is  a  great  instrument  in  the  produc- 
tion of  the  phenomena;  also,  that  the  cold  resulting  from 
rarefaction  is  a  cause  of  the  condensation  of  that  vapour, 
and  of  course  of  clouds.  On  this  last  idea,  derived  from 
Dalton,  Mr.  Espy  has  founded  his  ingenious  theory  of  storms ; 
alleging,  erroneously,  as  I  think,  the  buoyancy  resulting  from 
the  heat  thus  evolved,  to  be  the  grand  cause  of  rain,  also  of 
tornadoes,  hurricanes,  and  other  electrical  storms.  I  did  err 
in  ascribing  too  much  to  variations  of  density  arising  from 
changes  of  elevation,  and  twenty  years'  additional  experience 
as  an  experimenter  in  electricity,  has  taught  me  to  ascribe 
vastly  more  to  this  agent  than  I  did  formerly.  To  pursue 
this  subject  fully,  would  give  this  paper  an  undue  length. .  . . 
As  bodies  oppositely  electrified  attract  each  other,  "  a 
fortiori,"  attraction  must  always  exist  between  any  bodies 
sufficiently  electrified  for  an  electric  discharge  to  take  place 
between  them.  Hence  the  rising  of  the  water  within  the 
track  of  a  tornado  and  its  subsidence  on  the  passage  of  light- 
ning, as  observed  by  Mr.  Allen,  near  the  city  of  Providence, 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  469 

R.  I.,  may  be  considered  as  resulting  from  the  alternation  of 
convective  with  disruptive  discharge.  By  this  observation 
of  Mr.  Allen,  attraction  is  shown  to  have  existed  between 
an  electrified  stratum  of  air  coated  by  clouds,  and  the  op- 
positely electrified  water  of  a  subjacent  river.  It  is  reason- 
able to  infer  that  attraction,  originating  in  the  same  way, 
operating  upon  the  denser  stratum  of  the  atmosphere  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  earth,  by  counteracting  gravitation  may  cause 
that  rarefaction  by  which  houses  are  burst  or  unroofed,  and  an 
upward  current  of  tremendous  force  produced.  We  may  also 
infer  that  bodies  are  carried  aloft  by  the  joint  action  of  the 
electrical  attraction  and  the  vertical  blast  which  it  produces. 

The  effects  upon  the  leaves  noticed  by  me  after  the  tornado 
of  New  Brunswick  in  1835,  and  still  more  those  subsequently 
observed  by  Peltier  after  that  of  Chaeenaye  in  1839,  can- 
not be  explained  without  supposing  them  to  have  been  the 
medium  of  an  electric  discharge. 

Any  heat  imparted  to  air  in  rising  from  the  terrestrial 
surface  to  the  region  of  the  clouds,  by  the  condensation  of 
aqueous  vapour,  being  applied  to  the  upper  part  of  the 
column  and  rendering  it  as  much  taller  as  lighter,  cannot 
speedily  make  its  total  weight  less  than  that  of  the  surround- 
ing air,  and  must  therefore  be  insufficient  to  cause  any  violent 
changes,  like  those  which  constitute  tornadoes  or  hurricanes, 
as  argued  by  Espy.  Moreover,  the  process  on  which  so  much 
stress  has  been  laid  by  this  ingenious  meteorologist,  cannot 
generate  rain  storms  during  which  the  rain  freezing  as  it 
falls,  the  temperature  of  the  lower  stratum  is  shown  to  be 
below  the  freezing  point  of  water,  while  that  of  the  upper 
stratum,  within  which  water  condenses  in  the  liquid  form, 
must  be  above  that  point. 

Were  the  causes  assigned  by  Espy  adequate  to  create  a 
tornado  or  hurricane,  a  storm  of  this  kind  would  exist  in- 
cessantly in  the  vicinity  of  the  equator,  where  in  consequence 


470  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

of  the  never  ceasing  ascent  of  warm  moist  air  from  the  ocean, 
that  afflux  of  this  fluid  from  neighboring  regions  takes  place, 
to  which  the  trade  winds  are  attributed. 

Experience  has  demonstrated  that  electricity  cannot  exist 
on  one  side  of  an  electric,  without  its  existence  simultaneously 
on  the  other  side.  If  the  interior  of  a  hollow  globular  electric 
be  neutral  so  will  the  outside  be ;  but  if  the  interior  be  either 
positively  or  negatively  electrified,  the  outside  will  be  found 
in  the  one  case  positive,  and  in  the  other  negative. 

The  atmosphere  is  an  electric  in  a  hollow  globular  form, 
and  as  electricity  is  known  to  pervade  the  space  within  it  occu- 
pied by  earth,  the  principle  in  question  must  also  pervade  the 
space  beyond  that  portion  of  the  atmosphere  which  is  suffi- 
ciently dense  to  insulate,  or  to  perform  the  part  of  an  electric. 

Thus  there  are  three  enormous  concentric  spaces,  of  which 
the  intermediate  one  is  occupied  by  an  electric,  while  the 
innermost  one  and  the  outer  one  are  occupied  by  conductors. 
The  two  last  mentioned,  may  be  considered  as  equivalent  to 
two  oceans  of  electricity,  of  which  one  may  be  called  the 
celestial,  the  other  the  terrestrial  electric  ocean.  For  an 
adequate  cause  of  diversity  in  the  states  of  the  electric  oceans, 
it  must  be  sufficient  to  refer  to  the  vapourization  and  con- 
densation of  water.  The  power  of  this  process  to  electrify 
has  recently  been  confirmed  by  the  electrical  sparks  caused 
by  the  escape  of  high  steam. 

When  either  electric  ocean  is  minus  the  other  must  be 
plus,  and  at  the  same  time  any  intermediate  stratum  of  the 
atmosphere  enclosing  a  stratum  of  clouds,  must  be  charged  by 
induction  if  not  by  communication.  Between  the  concen- 
tric strata  of  air,  severally  bounding  the  celestial  and  ter- 
restrial ocean,  there  must  be  an  electrical  attraction  tending 
to  counteract  gravitation  and  thus  to  influence  the  density 
and  pressure  of  the  lower  stratum  of  the  atmosphere. 

The  proximity  of  a  stratum  of  clouds  electrified  by  the 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  471 

celestial  ocean,  must  cause  an  accumulation  of  electricity  in 
any  portion  of  the  terrestrial  surface  immediately  subjacent; 
and  by  counteracting  gravitation,  cause  a  local  diminution 
of  atmospheric  pressure  which  is,  it  is  well  known,  a  pre- 
cursor and  demonstrably  a  cause  of  wind  and  rain. 

Those  enormous  discharges  of  electricity  which  take  place 
during  hurricanes,  may  be  accounted  for  by  supposing  that 
they  result  from  discharges  between  the  celestial  and  ter- 
restrial electric  oceans.  Thunder  clouds  may  owe  their 
charges  not  only  to  the  vapourization  and  condensation  of 
water,  but  also  to  the  celestial  ocean  previously  charged  by 
that  process.  Auroras  may  be  the  consequence  of  discharges 
from  one  part  of  the  atmosphere  to  another,  through  the 
rare  conductive  medium  which  is  occupied  by  the  celestial 
ocean;  or  they  may  result  from  discharges  from  other  planets 
or  suns,  or  from  any  part  of  space  however  remote.  Since, 
agreeably  to  Wheats  tone's  experiments,  electricity  flies  with 
a  velocity  not  less  than  that  of  light,  distance  can  create  no 
obstacle  to  its  passage. 

In  November  last,  subsequently  to  the  submission  of  the 
opinions  above  expressed  to  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences, 
I  verified  a  conjecture  of  my  friend,  Dr.  F.  K.  Mitchell, 
that  moist,  foggy  or  cloudy  air  is  not  a  conductor  of  elec- 
tricity, its  influence,  in  paralyzing  the  efficacy  of  electrical 
apparatus,  arising  from  the  moisture  deposited  on  adjoining 
solid  surfaces. 

A  red  hot  iron  cylinder,  upon  which  evidently,  no  moist- 
ure could  be  deposited,  suspended  from  the  excited  con- 
ductor of  an  electrical  machine,  was  found  to  yield  sparks 
within  a  receiver  replete  with  aqueous  vapour,  arising  from  a 
capsule  of  boiling  water. 

Hence  it  appears  that  bodies  of  air,  whether  cloudy  or 
clear,  may  be  oppositely  electrified,  from  each  other  or  from 
the  earth.  This  would  explain  the  gyration  on  a  horizontal 


472  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

axis  which  seems  to  be  attendant  on  thunder  gusts,  and  may 
account  for  the  ascent  of  the  southeaster  and  descent  of  the 
northwester  in  the  great  storm  of  December,  1836,  described 
by  Loomis. 

Such  gyration  may  be  a  form  of  convective  discharge,  in 
which  electrical  reaction  is  assisted  by  calorific  circulation  and 
the  evolution  of  latent  heat,  agreeably  to  Dalton  and  Espy. 

Squalls  may  be  the  consequence  of  electrical  reaction  be- 
tween the  terrestrial  surface  and  oppositely  excited  masses 
of  air,  and  the  intermixture  of  masses  so  excited,  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  same  cause,  may  be  among  the  sources  of  rain, 
hail,  and  gusts.  The  specific  gravity  of  a  body  of  air,  elec- 
trified differently  from  the  surrounding  medium,  may  be 
lessened  by  what  is  called  electric  repulsion;  the  particles 
inevitably  moving  a  greater  distance  from  each  other,  as 
similarly  electrified  pith  balls  are  known  to  do. 

Hence  a  cause  of  rarefaction,  buoyance,  and  consequent 
upward  motion,  in  a  column  of  electrified  air,  more  competent 
than  that  suggested  by  Espy. 

Should  it  be  verified  that  a  gyration  from  right  to  left 
takes  place,  during  convective  discharges  of  electricity  in 
hurricanes,  it  may  be  referrible  to  the  disposition  which  a 
positive  electrical  discharge  from  the  earth  to  the  sky  would 
have  to  gyrate  in  that  direction." 

Hare  never  did  admit  the  rotary  theory  of  Redfield.  The 
latter  would  never  consent  to  an  oral  controversy  with  Hare 
at  the  meetings  of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  where  much  of  this  material  was  presented. 
Those  present  at  the  second  meeting  of  the  Association,  held 
in  New  Haven,  said  they  would  never  forget  "  the  zeal  and 
energy  with  which  Dr.  Hare,  in  an  off-hand  speech,  fluent 
and  animated,  assailed  the  views  of  Mr.  Redfield,  who  was 
all  the  while  a  quiet  and  silent  listener.  The  responses  of  the 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  473 

latter  were  always  made  by  the  pen  and  never  on  public 
occasions  by  the  tongue." 

Dove  also  discussed  "  The  Law  of  Storms."  This  called 
forth  a  vigorous  protest  (1843)  from  Hare.  Is  there  not 
he  asked: 

"a  great  mistake  made  by  Redfield  and  other  advocates  of 
the  whirlwind  theory;  in  treating  gyratory  motion  as  a  cause 
of  violence.  .  .  .  ?  I  have  not  been  able,"  he  continues, 
"  to  discover  that  Dove  attempts  to  assign  any  cause  for 
violent  winds."  .  .  . 

"  I  would  recommend  Loomis's  observations  to  the  candid 
attention  of  Dove,  and  would  request  him  to  show  in  what 
manner  the  earth's  motion  co-operated  to  produce  it ;  or  how 
the  enormous  length  of  the  focal  area,  or  area  of  minimum 
pressure,  comparatively  with  its  breadth,  can  be  reconciled 
with  the  idea  of  its  having  formed  the  centre  of  an  extensive 
whirlwind.  There  is  another  fact  which  would  seem  to  be 
literally  an  unsurmountable  obstacle  to  the  rotation  of  a 
storm  travelling  from  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  to  the 
Atlantic  coast.  I  allude  to  the  interposition  of  the  Alleghany 
mountains.  Dove's  imaginary  aerial  cylinder  would  be  cut 
nearly  in  twain  when  bestriding  that  range.  Obviously  more 
than  one  half  of  the  air  in  such  a  cylindrical  mass  would  be 
below  the  average  level  of  the  summits  of  those  mountains. 
Under  such  circumstances  could  it  be  conceived  to  rotate  about 
a  vertical  axis? 

I  am  aware  that  various  writers  have  referred  to  the  little 
transient  whirls  which  are  occasionally  seen  to  take  place  in 
windy  times,  carrying  up  dust,  leaves,  and  other  light  bodies, 
as  a  support  for  the  idea  of  whirlwind  storms ;  and  Redfield 
has  alleged,  "  that  no  valid  reasons  can  be  given  why  larger 
masses  of  air  may  not  acquire  and  develop  similar  rotative 
movements." 

It  appears  to  me  that  there  are  several  valid  reasons  for 


474  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

not  adopting  the  view  of  the  subject  which  he  has  taken. 
The  momentum  by  which  any  body  is  kept  in  motion,  is  as 
its  weight  multiplied  by  its  velocity,  while  the  expenditure 
of  momentum  in  cceteris  paribus  as  its  surface.  On  this 
account,  a  globe  of  which  the  content  in  proportion  to  its  su- 
perficies is  pre-eminently  great,  will,  in  a  resisting  medium 
like  the  air,  retain  a  rotary  motion  longer  than  an  equal 
weight,  of  the  matter  forming  it,  in  any  other  shape.  The 
flat  cylinder,  in  diameter  about  two  hundred  times  its  thick- 
ness, of  which  the  existence  would  be  necessary  to  an  exten- 
sive whirlwind,  is  a  form  of  which  the  surface  would  be  very 
great  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of  matter  it  contains.  No 
observer  ever  noticed  any  whirl  produced  as  above  described, 
to  have  a  diameter  many  times  greater  than  its  height,  or 
to  endure  many  minutes.  Such  pigmy  whirls  appear  to  be  the 
consequence  of  eddies  resulting  from  the  conflict  with  each 
other  or  with  various  impediments,  of  puffs  or  flaws  of  wind. 
No  doubt,  in  this  way  a  deficit  of  local  density  is  easily  caused 
in  a  fluid  so  elastic  as  the  air,  and  consequently  by  gravity  as 
well  as  its  elastic  reaction,  a  centripetal  motion  is  induced 
in  the  surrounding  aerial  particles.  From  the  confluence  and 
conflict  of  the  air  thus  put  into  motion,  a  whirl  may  arise. 
The  manner  in  which  light  bodies  are  gathered  towards  the 
axis  of  these  whirls,  shows  that  they  are  accompanied  by  a 
centripetal  tendency.  It  is  only  when  the  wind  blows  briskly 
that  such  whirls  are  ever  seen  to  take  place,  but  tornadoes 
agreeably  to  universal  observation  occur  when  there  is  little 
or  no  wind  externally. 

According  to  the  evidence  adduced  by  the  advocates  of 
the  whirlwind  theory,  there  is  in  this  respect  perfect  similarity 
in  the  phenomena  of  tornadoes  and  hurricanes.  Beyond  the 
sphere  of  the  alleged  gyration,  there  is  but  little  if  any 
atmospheric  commotion,  and  certainly  none  competent  to  be 
the  cause  of  a  great  whirlwind.  It  follows  that  pigmy  whirl- 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  475 

winds  and  hurricanes  can  have  no  analogy.  The  former  are 
never  produced  without  a  proportionable  external  activity 
in  the  wind,  while  comparative  external  quiescence  seems  to 
accompany  the  latter. 

I  will  conclude  by  applying  to  Dove  the  stricture  which 
I  applied,  on  a  former  occasion,  to  Espy,  and  to  Redfield. 
He  has,  I  think,  committed  a  great  oversight  in  neglecting 
to  take  into  consideration  the  agency  of  electricity  in  the 
generation  of  storms." 

Espy,  believing  that  Hare's  strictures  upon  Dove's  state- 
ments were  in  reality  an  attack  upon  his  own  ideas  published 
quite  a  spirited  reply,  concluding: 

"  To  me  it  appears,  that  the  main  course  of  discussion 
pursued  by  Hare  in  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  elaborate 
paragraphs,  is  essentially  misapplied  and  erroneous.  If  the 
supporters  of  a  rotative  or  whirlwind  action  in  tornadoes  and 
hurricanes  had  chosen  to  maintain  their  cause  in  a  speculative 
manner,  the  case  might  have  been  different.  But  when  their 
facts  and  results  were  offered  on  the  basis  of  direct  observa- 
tions, which  had  been  set  forth,  in  many  cases,  with  particu- 
larity and  precision,  it  seems  like  a  waste  of  words  to  assail 
these  observed  phenomena  and  results  with  strictures  and 
objections  of  this  character;  volumes  of  which  can  never 
equal  in  value  the  direct  observations  which  may  be  made 
of  the  phenomena  of  a  single  storm." 

In  1852  Hare  published  (Weed,  Parsons  &  Co.,  Albany) 
"  Strictures  on  Prof.  Espy's  Report  on  Storms."  He  con- 
curred with  Espy  "  in  the  influence  that  hurricanes  and  tor- 
nadoes are  the  consequence  of  the  ascent  of  air  from  a  focal 
area  or  intermediate  space,  by  which  a  confluence  from  two 
or  more  opposite  quarters,  to  supply  the  deficit  thus  arising, 
is  induced,"  but  he  differed  with  him  as  to  the  cause  of  the 
ascent  of  air  in  such  cases.  It  will  be  recalled  that  as  early 
as  1835,  before  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  Hare 


476  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

had  based  the  ascent  in  question  to  a  discharge  of  electricity 
between  the  earth  and  the  sky.  'Indeed,  in  1836  he  pub- 
lished a  memoir  on  this  explanation  in  the  Transactions  of 
the  Society,  and  now  in  this  reply  to  Espy  he  reviews  his 
own  views,  giving  them  more  briefly  and  forcibly  than  he 
had  done  before. 

On  June  3,  1852,  Mr.  John  Wise  made  his  131st  balloon 
ascension.  He  proceeded  from  Portsmouth,  Ohio.  He  en- 
countered and  was  in  three  distinct  storms.  His  report  of  the 
conditions  about  him  and  the  atmospheric  changes  in  particu- 
lar attracted  Hare's  attention.  Reviewing  all  most  carefully, 
he,  at  great  length,  discussed  details  (1854)  and  demonstrated 
"  that  they  are  quite  consistent  with  the  idea  that  electricity 
is  a  principal  agent  in  the  generation  of  storms." 

A  memoir  on  the  explosion  of  nitre  was  published  by 
Hare  in  1849.  From  it  we  learn  that  on  July  19,  1845,  a 
great  fire  took  place  in  the  city  of  New  York.  The  phe- 
nomena attending  it  were  awful  and  mysterious.  Two  hun- 
dred and  thirty  houses  were  destroyed.  These  contained 
merchandise  to  the  value  of  two  millions  of  dollars.  From  a 
series  of  detonations  noted  by  every  person  it  was  assumed 
that  gun-powder  was  the  cause,  but  the  "  oaths  of  worthy 
and  well  informed  persons  "  indicated  that  no  gun-powder 
was  contained  in  the  building  within  which  the  explosions 
occurred.  The  real  cause  of  the  disaster  became  a  subject 
of  perplexing  consideration  for  chemists.  It  was  fully  estab- 
lished "  that  there  were  in  the  store  more  than  300,000  pounds 
of  nitre,  secured  in  double  gunny  bags,  containing  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  pounds  of  nitre  each,  in  piles  alternating 
with  heaps  of  combustible  merchandise."  In  the  opinion  of 
Silliman,  Hayes  and  other  eminent  chemists,  the  unfortunate 
results  were  to  be  due  possibly  "  to  the  reaction  of  the  nitre 
with  contiguous  merchandise." 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  477 

Upon  approaching  Hare  on  the  subject  he  recalled  that 
upon  one  occasion  "  a  mischievous  explosion  had  occurred 
in  my  laboratory,  when  a  fissure  taking  place  in  an  iron 
alembic  holding  about  twenty  pounds  of  fused  nitre,  on  hoist- 
ing the  alembic  off  the  fire,  a  jet  of  the  liquefied  salt  fell 
accidentally  upon  some  water  in  a  tub,  which  was  unfor- 
tunately too  near."  It  also  occurred  to  him  that  potassium 
when  thrown  upon  the  surface  of  water,  is,  by  combustion 
with  the  oxygen  of  that  liquid,  converted  into  "  a  fused 
globule  of  red  hot  oxide,  which,  in  the  act  of  combining  with 
water,  detonates  violently." 

He  said  further  that  in  the  winter  of  1845-1846,  "  I 
found  that  when  nitre,  by  the  flame  of  a  hydro-oxygen  blow- 
pipe supplied  with  atmospheric  air  and  oxygen,  is  heated  to 
incandescence,  and  then  quickly  submerged  in  water  previ- 
ously situated  beneath  the  containing  ladle,  a  sharp  explosion 
ensues.  .  .<  .  I  have  fallen  upon  contrivances,  by  which 
pulverized  sugar  and  nitre  may  be  made  to  explode.  The  first 
expedient  which  succeeded,  was  that  of  pouring  melted  sugar 
upon  the  face  of  a  hammer,  so  as  to  make  a  disk  of  commensu- 
rate size.  .  ;  .  Some  nitre  was  put  into  a  thin  shallow 
platina  capsule,  situated  over  a  small  anvil,  near  one  of  its 
edges,  so  that  the  bottom  of  the  capsule  might  be  reached 
obliquely  by  a  hydro-atmospheric  blow-pipe  flame.  Under 
these  circumstances,  the  nitre  having  been  heated  until  its  pot- 
ash began  to  be  volatilized,  was  struck  with  the  sugar-faced 
hammer.  A  smart  detonation  was  the  consequence.  .  .  . " 

"Another  method  of  producing  explosive  reaction  is  as 
follows : — Nitre  and  sugar  being  coarsely  powdered,  let  disks 
of  paper  about  three  inches  in  width,  be  prepared.  Place 
one  of  the  disks  upon  an  anvil,  and  cover  it  with  a  stratum 
of  sugar.  Then  cover  the  sugar  with  a  stratum  of  nitre, 
placing  over  this  another  of  the  disks.  Heat  a  flat  iron  bar, 
wider  than  the  disks,  to  a  welding  heat,  and  quickly  with- 


478  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

drawing  it  from  the  fire,  and  holding  it  above  the  paper, 
strike  it  down  thereon  with  a  sledge.  An  explosion  will 
ensue,  with  a  very  loud  report.  .  .  ." 

"  Having  submitted  the  preceding  facts  and  considera- 
tions, my  explanation  of  the  stupendous  explosion  which 
forms  the  topic  of  this  communication  is  as  follows : 

Of  the  enormous  quantity  of  nitre  which  the  store  held, 
more  than  56,000  pounds  were  on  the  first  floor,  about  180,000 
pounds  on  the  second  floor,  and  about  100,000  on  the  third 
floor.  The  weight  of  combustible  merchandise  was  about 
700,000  pounds.  As  it  was  alleged  by  some  of  the  witnesses 
examined  that  the  iron  window  shutters  of  an  upper  story 
became  red  hot  by  the  conflagration  of  an  adjoining  house, 
it  is  probable  that  fire  was  communicated  to  some  of  the  gunny 
bags  holding  the  nitre,  or  some  other  combustibles,  which,  as 
stated  in  evidence,  were  piled  against  the  shutters.  As  soon, 
however,  as  a  single  bag  became  ignited,  the  nitre  with  which 
the  inner  bag  must  have  been  imbued,  would  give  the  greatest 
deflagrating  intensity  to  the  consequent  combustion;  while 
the  interstices  between  the  bags,  like  those  between  grains 
of  gunpowder,  would  enable  the  flame  to  pervade  the  whole 
heap  of  bags.  As  nitre  fuses  at  a  low  red  heat,  very  soon 
a  great  quantity,  in  a  state  of  liquefaction,  must  have  run 
down  upon  the  wooden  floor,  which  would  immediately  burst 
into  an  intense  state  of  reaction  with  the  oxygen  of  the  salt.  To 
this  combustion  the  merchandise  adjoining  would  add  fuel, 
causing  a  still  more  extensive  liquefaction  of  the  nitre.  The 
deflagrating  mass  thus  created,  on  burning  its  way  through 
the  floor,  or  falling  through  the  scuttles,  which  were  all  open 
agreeably  to  the  evidence,  must  have  received  an  enormous 
reinforcement  from  the  subjacent  nitre  or  combustible  mer- 
chandise. On  the  giving  way  of  each  floor  in  succession,  the 
conflagration  must  have  received  a  reinforcement  of  defla- 
grating fuel,  so  as  to  have  grown  rapidly  with  its  growth, 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  479 

and  strengthened  with  its  strength.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, the  whole  of  the  nitre  becoming  liquefied,  must  have 
found  its  way  to  the  cellar.  Meanwhile,  the  merchandise 
and  the  charcoal  of  the  wood-work  must  have  been  conglom- 
erated by  the  fusibility  of  the  sugar,  shellac,  and  bitumen, 
aided  by  the  molasses,  and  formed  thus  an  antagonistic 
mass  of  more  than  half  a  million  of  pounds  in  weight,  defla- 
grating intensely  with  the  nitre.  But,  whenever,  by  these 
means,  a  portion  of  the  deflagrating  congeries  attained  the 
fulminating  temperature,  a  detonation  must  have  ensued, 
causing  a  temporary  lifting  of  the  combustible  mass;  only, 
however,  to  be  followed  by  a  more  active  collision,  resulting 
from  the  subsequent  falling  back  of  the  conglomerated  com- 
bustible mass  upon  the  melted  nitre.  After  every  such  col- 
lision, the  combustible  congeries  must  have  been  blown  up 
to  a  height  augmenting  with  the  temperature,  the  force  of  the 
fall,  and  extent  of  reciprocal  penetration.  The  force  of  the 
fall  would,  of  course,  be  as  the  height.  Hence  the  twelve 
or  thirteen  successive  detonations  indicate  as  many  explosive 
collisions ;  while  the  successive  augmentation  of  the  loudness 
of  the  reports  indicates  a  proportionable  growth  of  their 
violence,  arising  from  successively  greater  elevation  and 
descent." 

And  it  was  with  reference  to  the  preceding  that  he  wrote 
Dr.  Franklin  Bache: 

"  Lynwood  Ellicots  Mills  Md. 
"My  dear  Sir  "  July  25th,  1850. 

I  owe  you  my  acknowledgements  for  your  letter  of  the 
23rd  which  is  quite  satisfactory.  Since  I  wrote  to  you  I 
have  found  that  an  extract  from  my  communication  respecting 
the  explosiveness  of  nitre  had  been  published  in  the  North 
American.  When  my  memoir  now  in  the  Press  is  published 
I  hope  you  will  give  it  some  attention  and  when  we  meet  we 
can  talk  the  matter  over.  The  improvements  in  using  the 


480  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

gas  from  the  public  works  will  be  best  appreciated  when  I 
am  enabled  to  show  the  phenomena  and  the  results. 
I  remain  with  esteem 

Yours  sincerely 
"  Dr.  Franklin  Bache."  ROBERT  HARE/' 

"  I  have  concluded  to  avail  myself  of  this  letter  to  draw 
your  attention  to  two  facts  which  serve  to  illustrate  the 
influence  of  chemical  affinity  as  a  substitute  for  mechanical 
compression. 

A  globule  of  oxide  of  iron  falling  through  a  subjacent 
stratum  of  water  may  be  seen  for  a  short  time  ignited  be- 
neath it  on  the  supporting  shelf  of  the  pneumatic  cistern 
without  any  explosive  reaction  with  the  water;  while  under 
similar  circumstances  a  globule  of  oxide  of  potassium  (po- 
tassa)  explodes  as  soon  as  the  oxidation  producing  it  ceases. 

A  globule  of  any  volatile  liquid  may  be  supported  in 
proximity  with  the  surface  of  an  incandescent  candle  by 
generated  vapour  without  exploding  when  on  quicklime  (or 
any  other  refractory  surface  capable  of  absorbing  or  coalesc- 
ing with  the  liquid  or  either  of  its  ingredients  under  the  actual 
circumstances)  explosion  will  cease. 

Explosive  mixtures  such  as  can  be  made  with  nitre  and 
chlorate  of  potassa  deflagrate  without  exploding  when  uncon- 
fined,  doing  no  harm  to  the  supporting  body.  But  explosive 
chemical  compounds  such  as  the  fulminates  of  silver  or  mer- 
cury, argentate  or  aurate  of  ammonia,  the  chloride  of  nitrogen, 
or  perchloric  ether,  fracture  the  vessels  in  which  they  may 
be  exploded  and  do  not  in  any  case  deflagrate." 

In  1854  we  find  Hare,  in  pamphlet,  defending  one  Barker 
against  the  attacks  of  a  Rev.  Dr.  Berg.  It  is,  in  brief,  a 
series  of  objections  to  existing  sectarianism.  Its  contents 
are  evident  from  the  following  closing  paragraphs : 

*  To  conclude,  my  object  in  this  publication,  has  been  to 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  481 

resist  the  effort  which  has  been  long  and  strenuously  made, 
in  this,  as  well  as  in  other  parts  of  Christendom,  to  represent 
believers  in  God,  as  adopting  their  opinions  from  bad  motives, 
(*  baseness  of  heart '  as  recently  alleged  at  Concert  Hall.) 
This  unprincipled  method  of  sustaining  orthodoxy,  so-called, 
is  productive  of  great  injustice  and  oppression  to  many  who, 
like  myself,  consider  a  book  of  no  higher  authority  than  the 
fallible  men  who  wrote  it.  Moreover,  this  intolerance  gives 
rise  to  hypocrisy  arising  from  the  fear  of  persecution  affecting 
a  man  in  business  or  any  pursuit  in  which  he  may  want  in- 
fluence or  popularity.  Against  this  tyranny  I  conceive  it  to 
be  my  duty  to  stand  up  in  defence  of  my  brethren  in  opinion 
who  may  be  less  independently  situated. 

I  am  the  more  encouraged  to  take  this  stand,  because  in 
my  opinion,  and  that  of  many  others,  I  have,  of  late,  had 
positive  scientific  proof  of  a  future  state;  in  which,  without 
any  reference  to  scripture,  a  position  is  given  to  souls  pro- 
portional to  their  merit,  independently  of  faith  either  in 
Christ,  Mahomet,  Moses,  or  Bhuda." 

It  may  have  been  that  this  occurrence  prompted  him 
to  write : 

Did  not  that  thought  from  Heav'n  proceed, 

According  God's  mercy  to  every  creed, 

Howe'er  pagan,  howe'er  untrue, 

If  it  meant  to  give  our  Creator  his  due  ? 

May  not  devotion  to  God  be  shown, 

Whether  through  Crist  or  through  Mohadded  known  ? 

Whether  men  die  in  holy  war, 

Or  kneel  to  be  crushed  by  Juggernaut's  car? 

Mankind  would  God  in  error  leave, 

Yet  penalty  for  that  error  aggrieve. 

Did  God  a  special  creed  require, 

Each  soul  would  he  not  with  that  creed  inspire  ? 

Can  a  glaring  evil  endure 
Despite  of  the  power  and  will  to  cure? 
31 


482  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

Must  not  any  event  arrive 

For  which  both  will  and  power  strive  ? 

Will  not  any  result  obtain 

Which  power  unites  with  will  to  gain? 

If  God  can  creatures  make  to  suit  his  will, 
Forsee,  if  they  can,  his  design  fulfill ; 
Wherefore  to  trial  those  creatures  expose, 
Traits  to  discover,  which  he  thus  foreknows  ? 

In  November,  1855,  he  appeared  in  New  York  City  be- 
fore an  audience  of  more  than  three  thousand  persons  with 
a  "  Lecture  on  Spiritualism,"  in  which  he  set  forth  the  facts 
which  induced  his  "  conversion  to  spiritualism  and  confirmed 
his  hope  of  immortality." 

He  said:  "A  practical  man,  with  whom  I  had  become 
acquainted  .  .  .  urged  me  to  investigate  the  manifes- 
tations; saying  I  was  in  error  in  assuming  that  the  tables 
moved  by  the  aid  of  mortals,  since  he  had  seen  them  move 
without  visible  contact  by  any  person.  .  .  .  A  friend, 
offering  to  take  me  to  a  circle,  I  went,  .  .  .  I  was  all 
vigilance — a  thorough  unbeliever,  earnestly  hoping  that  I 
should  obtain  an  explanation  agreeably  to  the  received  laws 
of  nature  .  .  .  determined  to  prevent  the  possibility  of 
deception,  I  constructed  »  .  .  the  spiritoscope" 

It  was  by  this  instrument  that  he  claimed  he  was  able 
to  have  interviews  with  his  father,  with  Washington  and 
with  Franklin,  who  approved  of  a  recent  theory  of  electricity 
which  he  had  enunciated. 

During  this  year  he  also  issued,  through  a  New  York  pub- 
lishing house,  a  volume  of  460  pages,  bearing  the  title: 

EXPERIMENTAL,  INVESTIGATION 

OF  THE 
SPIRIT  MANIFESTATIONS 

The  following  paragraph  from  the  preface  may  well  be 
pondered  by  those  who  have  followed  Hare  in  his  earnest 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  483 

search  for  truth  in  the  fields  of  chemistry  and  physics  and 
who  have  been  impressed  by  the  originality  of  his  inquiries 
and  the  profundity  of  his  knowledge: 

"  Those  who  shall  give  a  careful  perusal  to  the  following 
work  will  find  that  there  has  been  some  '  method  in  my  mad- 
ness ' ;  and  that  if  I  am  a  victim  to  an  intellectual  epidemic, 
my  mental  constitution  did  not  yield  at  once  to  the  miasma. 
But  let  not  the  reader  too  readily  '  lay  the  flattering  unction 
to  his  soul '  that "  'tis  my  hallucination  that  is  to  be  impugned, 
not  his  ignorance  of  facts  and  his  educational  errors." 

By  means  of  the  spiritoscope,  the  inquirer  was  able  to 
communicate  directly  with  "  spirits  "  and  not  need  the  pres- 
ence of  a  medium.  This  instrument  Hare  offered  to  exhibit 
before  a  Convention  of  clergymen  of  his  own  faith,  but  the 
offer  was  refused.  It  was  in  the  letter  addressed  to  them 
that  the  following  lines  appeared: 

However  late,  as  holy  angels  teach, 
Souls  now  in  Hades,  bliss  in  Heaven  may  reach. 
All  whose  conduct  has  been  mainly  right, 
With  lightning  speed  may  gain  that  blissful  height ; 
While  those  who  selfish,  sensual  ends  pursue, 
For  ages  may  their  vicious  conduct  rue, 
Doom'd  in  some  low  and  loathsome  plane  to  dwell, 
Made  through  remorse  and  shame  the  sinner's  hell ; 
Yet  through  contrition  and  a  change  of  mind, 
The  means  of  rising  may  each  sinner  find. 
The  higher  spirits  their  assistance  give, 
Teaching  the  contrite  how  for  Heaven  to  live. 

At  Albany,  at  a  meeting  of  the  American  Association  for 
the  Advancement  of  Science,  he  was  permitted,  after  much 
opposition,  in  deference  solely  to  his  age  and  to  his  reputation 
as  a  scientist,  to  read  an  elaborate  article  on  spiritualism, 
which  did  not  appear  in  its  Transactions. 

In  a  volume  entitled  "  Psychic  Facts,"  published  in  Lon- 
don as  late  as  1880,  Hare's  experiments  in  spirit  manifesta- 


484  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

tions  find  place  with  articles  contributed  by  Sir  William 
Crookes,  €.  F.  Varley,  Zollner  of  Leipzig,  Alfred  Russell 
Wallace,  Lord  Lindsay,  Butlerof  and  others  eminent  in 
various  walks  of  life. 

Stray  letters  addressed  to  Dr.  John  F.  Frazer,  editor  of 
the  Franklin  Journal,  have  come  to  hand.  Their  exact  con- 
nection with  Hare's  work  is,  except  in  one  case,  uncertain. 
In  the  instance  of  the  one  which  follows,  it  is  safe  to  conclude 
that  it  refers  to  the  contents  of  the  paper  of  1857.  Several 
attempts  to  exhibit  the  apparatus  mentioned  had  previously 
failed. 

"  My  dear  Sir 

Prof.  Henry  has  authorized  me  to  exhibit  the  apparatus 
for  showing  the  nature  of  the  phenomena  of  the  function  of 
quartz  before  the  Franklin  Institute  at  the  expense  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institute — 

If  therefore  there  is  no  objection  on  the  part  of  the  former 
I  will  direct  Mr.  Wight  to  transfer  the  apparatus  forthwith. 

Yours  truly, 

Prof.  Frazer  ROBERT  HARE  " 

Wednesday 
26th  Feby 

1851  " 

I  presume  on  notice  those  interested  attend  on  any  evening 
mentioned." 

In  1857  Dr.  Robert  Hare  exhibited  before  the  members 
of  the  Franklin  Institute  an  apparatus  (referred  to  in  pre- 
ceding letter)  for  ascertaining  whether  the  phenomena  attend- 
ing the  attrition  of  pieces  of  quartz,  when  rubbed  briskly 
together,  had  anything  in  common  with  a  supposed  new  body 
described  by  Schonbein  under  the  name  of  ozone.  When 
the  apparatus  was  in  operation,  scintillations  and  the  odor, 
which  was  the  object  of  the  inquiry,  resulted.  The  Doctor 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  485 

remarked:  "  In  no  way,  however,  could  I  produce  the  chem- 
ical effect  of  ozone  upon  iodized  starch  or  guiacum  tincture. 
On  directing  a  jet  of  hydrogen  between  the  stones  it  took 
fire  forthwith,  but  I  could  not  by  means  of  a  gold  leaf  elec- 
trometer detect  any  electricity."  The  scintillations  and  odor 
had  been  produced  by  rubbing  against  each  other  two  pygmy 
mill  stones  of  seven  inches  made  of  cellular  horn  stone.  The 
stones  were,  in  successive  experiments,  made  to  revolve  in 
vacuo,  in  hydrogen,  and  in  a  vacuity  previously  repleted 
with  this  gas  without  any  diminution  of  the  illuminating 
phenomena.  These,  it  seems  from  the  injection  of  the  jet 
of  hydrogen,  constitute  a  simple  case  of  ignition.  The  con- 
centration of  the  f rictional  force  and  the  transparency  of  the 
mass  under  which  the  ignition  is  effected  make  the  corrusca- 
tions  very  brilliant  in  a  room  otherwise  darkened.  "  It  has 
long  since  occurred  to  me  that  the  phenomena  of  light  under 
all  the  various  hues  which  it  is  capable  of  producing  are 
ascribed  to  the  undulatory  affections  of  the  ether  pervading 
the  universe,  so  that  the  still  greater  variety  of  odors  which 
influence  our  olfactory  nerves  may  be  due  to  vibratory  agita- 
tion of  the  same  medium.  If  odors  are  to  be  ascribed  to 
ethereal  affections  produced  by  impulses  proceeding  from 
odoriferous  substances,  consequently  taste  must  have  an 
analogous  origin,  and  mesmeric  influence,  so  far  as  its  ex- 
istence has  been  proved,  seems  equally  to  require  ethereal 
intervention.  It  may  be  conceived  that  the  odor  produced 
during  ozonification  during  the  attrition  of  quartz  is  due  to 
an  odoriferous  ethereal  affection." 

Evidently  there  must  have  been  a  disposition  on  the  part 
of  persons  connected  with  medical  education  to  depreciate 
the  value  of  chemistry  as  a  fundamental  in  such  training, 
otherwise  Hare  would  not  have  felt  constrained  to  submit 
the  following  opinions  to  a  Medical  Convention  held  in  the 
year  1857: 


486  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

"  The  knowledge  requisite  to  a  medical  education  cannot 
be  thoroughly  acquired  either  by  the  study  of  books  on  the 
one  hand,  or  by  attendance  on  demonstrative  courses  on  the 
other:  both  of  these  means  of  improvement  being  requisite 
to  the  education  of  a  competent  physician. 

Pathology,  therapeutics,  surgery,  materia  medica,  and 
midwifery,  are  of  the  most  immediate  importance  to  the  heal- 
ing art,  chemistry  and  anatomy  being  useful  only  so  far  as 
they  are  subservient  to  the  branches  thus  enumerated. 

Nevertheless,  as  chemistry  and  anatomy  are  among  the 
fundamental  branches  of  medical  science,  any  attempt  to  give 
a  medical  education  in  which  they  should  be  neglected,  would 
be  like  attempting  to  erect  a  superstructure  without  a 
basement. 

Of  the  branches  requisite  to  medical  graduation,  those 
are  most  necessary  to  be  taught  by  lectures  in  a  medical  school, 
which  require  experimental  or  demonstrative  illustration; 
and,  consequently,  the  branches  of  anatomy  and  chemistry, 
being  pre-eminently  susceptible  of  this  assistance,  are  among 
those  which  are  most  important  to  be  taught  by  the  lecturers 
in  schools  of  medicine.  So  far  as  materia  medica  can  be 
accompanied  by  an  exhibition  of  plants,  minerals,  and  phar- 
maceutical preparations,  and  so  far  as  surgery  and  midwifery 
require  and  admit  of  operative  illustration,  these  are  next  in 
order  to  anatomy  and  chemistry  in  their  claims  to  be  lectured 
upon.  Further,  so  much  of  the  practice  and  the  institutes  as 
can  be  assisted  by  clinical  lectures,  have  also  pretensions,  in 
this  way,  of  the  highest  order;  but  to  the  extent  that  such 
branches  are  insusceptible  of  illustration  to  the  eye  of  the 
student,  they  may  be  as  well  if  not  better  learned,  by  reading, 
than  by  listening  to  lecturers. 

Hence,  so  far  as  the  time  which  medical  students  can  be 
made  to  give  their  attendance  on  medical  schools  is  insuffi- 
cient to  enable  them  to  listen  to  all  the  branches  of  medical 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  487 

science  which  are  therein  taught,  it  is  important  that  they 
should  be  required  to  attend  those  lecturers  preferably,  of 
whose  instruction  there  will  be  the  least  subsequent  oppor- 
tunity to  repair  the  neglect. 

As  chemistry  has  become  more  and  more  important  in 
its  services  to  physiology  and  materia  medica,  in  proportion 
as  it  has  become  more  abstruse  and  more  extensive,  it  were 
wrong  to  indulge  that  increasing  indolence  and  disgust  which 
no  small  proportion  of  medical  students  display,  as  respects 
the  augmented  study  and  attendance  on  lectures  requisite  to 
acquire  a  due  knowledge  of  this  wonderful  science. 

Although  in  the  superb  column  constituted  by  a  thorough 
medical  education,  practice  and  the  institutes  form  the  cap- 
ital, outranking,  thus,  all  other  constituents,  yet  they  cannot 
exist  without  their  subordinates.  Hence  any  effort  to  impart 
the  knowledge  requisite  to  form  an  accomplished  physician, 
by  lecturing  on  pathology,  therapeutics,  and  physiology,  with- 
out a  concomitant,  if  not  a  previous  effort  to  teach  funda- 
mental branches,  were  like  placing  workmen  upon  a  scaffold, 
to  carve  the  entablature  of  a  column  before  completing  the 
pedestal. 

The  increased  difficulty  of  acquiring  a  knowledge  of 
chemical  science,  arising  from  its  miraculous  progress,  ought 
not  to  justify  its  neglect;  but  on  the  contrary,  greater  efforts 
should  be  made,  both  as  respects  the  means  of  experimental 
illustrations,  and  in  lecturing  on  this  highly  important  branch 
of  medical  knowledge. 

Under  these  circumstances,  those  who  are  authorized  to 
grant  medical  degrees,  ought  not  to  leave  it  to  the  option  of 
the  students,  whether  or  not  to  be  ignorant  of  chemistry. 

Since  chemistry  is  becoming  an  object  of  study  with  the 
intelligent  agriculturists  of  the  United  States,  it  must  have 
an  unfavorable  influence  upon  the  estimation  in  which  phy- 
sicians will  be  held,  if  farmers  should,  in  chemical  science, 


488  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

become  their  superiors;  so  that,  on  inquiry,  they  should  be 
found  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  the  earth  on  which  they  tread, 
of  the  food  which  they  eat,  of  the  air  which  they  breathe,  of 
the  medicines  which  they  prescribe,  or  of  the  flesh  and  bones 
composing  the  animal  frame,  which  is  the  object  of  their 
skill ;  yet  such  is  believed  to  be  the  ignorance  of  a  large  por- 
tion of  those  who  now  annually  receive  the  honours  of  a 
medical  diploma. 

The  preceding  suggestions  being  duly  considered,  the 
hope  is  entertained  that  the  medical  profession  will  feel  it 
to  be  their  duty,  to  use  all  their  influence  to  induce  the  medical 
schools  of  the  country  to  deny  a  medical  diploma  to  those 
whose  knowledge  of  chemistry  is  below  mediocrity. 

Evidently,  if  chemistry  be  requisite  to  medicine,  a  knowl- 
edge of  it  should  be  enforced;  if  not  requisite,  it  should  be 
omitted  from  the  list  of  sciences  necessary  to  the  acquisition 
of  a  medical  diploma." 

The  importance  accorded  chemistry  in  medicine  to-day 
would  no  doubt  have  delighted  Hare's  heart!  He  saw  its 
paramount  benefits  but  was  not  spared  to  realize  its 
recognition. 

It  was  in  1857  or  1858  that  Hare,  before  the  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  proposed  a  plan 
for  the  making  of  small  weights.  He  said: 

"  In  chemical  analysis,  and  in  the  assay  of  the  precious 
metals,  the  accuracy  of  the  extremely  minute  weights  em- 
ployed is  of  the  utmost  importance. 

As  the  government  has  undertaken  to  furnish  standard 
weights  and  measures  for  the  larger  operations  or  transactions 
of  commerce  and  the  arts,  without  which  accuracy  and  uni- 
formity could  not  be  secured  to  the  country  at  large,  so  it 
would  seem  consistent  that  to  the  minute  processes  of  the 
arts  and  sciences  a  help  should  be  given  which  otherwise  seems 
not  to  be  attainable. 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  489 

The  usual  process  of  making  weights,  by  reducing  them 
till  they  exactly  counterpoise  a  standard  weight,  cannot  be 
pursued  advantageously  when  they  are  less  each  than  a  tenth 
of  a  grain.  For  the  making  of  weights  below  that  size, 
measurement  and  division  are  preferably  employed. 

An  instrument  constructed  by  an  ingenious  and  skillful 
machinist  (Tyler)  is  capable  of  dividing  an  inch  into  1,400 
parts  by  the  action  of  a  ratchet  and  wheel,  which  may  be  so 
restricted  in  its  motion  as  only  to  move  one  tooth  at  a  stroke, 
causing  a  platform  to  advance  only  the  fraction  of  an  inch 
above  mentioned. 

For  producing  by  means  of  this  instrument  tenths  and 
hundredths  of  a  grain,  a  convenient  length  of  very  fine  pal- 
ladium wire  may  be  employed.  This  being  reduced  in  length 
very  cautiously  till  it  weighs  some  equimultiple  of  a  grain,  a 
distance  commensurate  with  the  length  of  this  wire  is  marked 
upon  a  suitable  narrow  brass  plate  by  a  knife.  The  number 
of  the  ratchet  strokes  which  must  be  made  in  order  to  measure 
this  distance  must  be  ascertained. 

Dividing  this  number  by  the  number  of  grains  will  give 
the  number  of  ratchet  movements  in  a  length  of  the  wire 
equal  in  weight  to  a  grain;  again  dividing  this  by  ten  will 
give  the  number  of  such  movements  in  a  length  equal  to  a 
grain;  and,  in  like  manner,  if  divided  by  one  hundred  will 
give  the  number  of  the  movements  in  question  requisite  to 
designate  the  length  equal  to  — —  of  a  grain.  The  length 
equal  to  as  much  of  the  wire  as  would  weigh  a  tenth  of  a  grain 
being  thus  found,  this  distance  is  to  be  marked  on  the  brass 
plate  with  a  sharp  edge. 

A  strip  of  steel  is  in  the  next  place  sharpened  at  each  end 
to  a  fine  edge,  and  bent  so  as  to  resemble  a  long  narrow  staple, 
is  to  be  furnished  midway  with  a  screw,  by  which  the  ends  can 
be  made  nearer  or  farther  apart,  like  the  points  of  spring 
compasses.  By  these  means,  with  the  aid  of  a  lens,  the  edges 


490  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

of  the  tool  thus  constructed  are  to  be  made  to  coincide  exactly 
with  the  marks  designating  the  length  of  wire  equal  to  the 
tenth  of  a  grain. 

Having  made  this  adjustment  by  the  action  of  the  tool, 
ten  pieces  of  the  wire  being  cut  and  afterwards  weighed 
against  a  standard  grain  weight,  if  found  too  light  or  too 
heavy,  the  screw  regulating  the  distance  must  be  touched 
so  as  to  cause  the  distance  to  be  increased  or  diminished,  ren- 
dering the  cuts  larger  or  smaller.  When  they  are  brought 
to  the  weight  required,  they  should,  by  a  delicate  assay 
balance,  be  tried  against  each  other  to  ascertain  that  they 
are  equal  in  weight  to  each  other. 

Having  thus  obtained  tenths  of  a  grain  in  weight  equal 
to  each  other,  fifths  may  be  made  by  the  same  process  and 
tried  against  the  tenths,  two  to  one,  and  against  each  other; 
hundredths  may  be  obtained  by  a  like  process;  for  each  a 
tool  being  requisite  like  that  used  for  cutting  tenths,  except- 
ing that  it  should  be  smaller  in  proportion  as  the  lengths 
required  to  be  cut  are  shorter. 

The  instrument  by  which  these  results  were  obtained  has 
a  peculiar  capability  of  reducing  the  size  of  the  graduations 
to  the  limits  requisite  to  include  a  greater  or  less  number 
within  any  necessary  length. 

Suppose  it  desirable  to  have  as  much  of  a  rod  as  would 
be  equivalent  in  bulk  to  a  cubic  inch  of  water  divided  into 
such  degrees  as  would  increase  hundredths  of  a  cubic  inch. 
Let  a  tube  sufficiently  large  to  receive  the  whole  length  of 
the  rod  be  at  one  end  recurved  at  right  angles,  and  terminated 
in  a  point  with  a  capillary  orifice.  Let  the  other  end  be 
furnished  with  a  stuffing-box  to  receive  the  rod,  making  a 
water-tight  juncture.  The  tube  is  to  be  replete  with  water, 
the  rod  entering  so  as  to  reach  a  little  beyond  the  stuffing- 
box.  A  mark  is  then  to  be  made  on  the  rod  as  close  to  the 
box  as  possible.  A  light  cup  being  counterpoised  on  an  ac- 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  491 

curate  balance,  and  a  weight  equal  to  a  cubic  inch  of  water 
being  placed  in  the  opposite  scale,  the  apex  of  the  rod  is  to 
be  introduced  into  the  cup  while  the  rod  is  shoved  in,  until 
as  much  water  has  been  forced  into  it  from  the  tube  as  will 
balance  the  weight  employed  as  above  mentioned.  Another 
mark  is  now  to  be  cut  into  the  rod  close  to  the  box  as  before. 
Thus  a  length  of  the  rod  equivalent  to  the  water  excluded, 
and  of  course  equal  to  a  cubic  inch  of  that  fluid,  is  thus  in- 
dicated to  exist  between  the  knife  marks. 

The  number  of  ratchet  strokes  requisite  to  measure  this 
distance  is  in  the  next  place  to  be  ascertained  and  divided  by 
the  number  of  graduations  required.  The  quotient  will  be 
the  number  necessary  to  make  a  degree. 

Should  the  number  of  the  ratchet  strokes,  when  decided 
as  above  mentioned,  leave  a  fraction,  it  is  to  be  gotten  rid 
of  by  means  of  the  contrivance  already  alluded  to  for  reducing 
each  degree  proportionally  to  any  reduction  in  the  whole 
length  necessary  to  a  degree. 

I  am  willing  to  put  the  instrument  in  question  into  the 
possession  of  the  government  or  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion on  condition  that  it  shall  be  kept  in  good  order  for  the  pur- 
pose of  furnishing  accurate  weights,  graduations  or  measures 
of  liquids  or  gases,  for  the  purposes  of  science  and  the  arts." 

The  writer  recalls  reading  a  perfectly  charming  letter 
from  Louis  Agassiz  written  in  the  summer  of  1858,  to  a  dis- 
tinguished man  of  science  in  Philadelphia,  relative  among 
other  things  to  the  formation  of  an  Academy  of  Science. 
Agassiz  advised  that  it  should  consist  of  sections;  "  that  two 
members  of  each  Section  should  be  selected  to  begin  the 
elections — the  two  best  men  beyond  question  .  .  .  !  The 
number  of  members  in  each  Section  to  be  limited.  .  .  . 
Would  Henry  and  Hare  not  be  the  best  men  to  form  the 
nucleus  of  the  Section  of  Physics  and  Chemistry?  "  There 
is  here  outlined  an  "Academy  "  which  five  years  later  became 


492  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

the  National  Academy  of  Sciences.  Hare  was  then  no  more. 
Henry  became  one  of  its  earliest  presidents. 

Robert  Hare  died  most  unexpectedly  on  Saturday,  May 
15,  1858.  The  event  was  a  terrible  shock  to  his  numerous 
friends  at  home  and  abroad.  Society,  as  well  as  Science, 
mourned,  in  his  departure  from  this  earthly  scene,  the  loss 
of  a  brilliant  ornament.  Indeed,  his  death  created  no  ordinary 
sensation.  The  public  press,  throughout  the  land,  bore  splen- 
did, eulogistic  testimony  to  his  solid  worth.  It  spoke  of  him 
as  simple,  indeed  child-like  in  his  manners — easy  of  approach, 
singularly  modest  and  retiring.  He  was  said  not  to  have 
had  an  enemy  and  "  carried  with  him  to  the  grave  the  warm 
and  kindly  remembrance  of  thousands  who  knew  his  rare 
qualities  of  head  and  heart."  Few  men  of  his  time  were  so 
universally  respected  by  the  scientific  world.  "  He  was  a 
patient  investigator  and  a  man  of  capacious  intellect,"  was 
the  testimony  of  Samuel  D.  Gross,  the  eminent  surgeon.  He 
was  most  cordially  esteemed  and  honored  for  his  incorruptible 
integrity.  It  required  great  force  of  evidence  to  unsettle  his 
mind  on  any  subject  when  once  his  conclusions  were  estab- 
lished. "  Indeed,  in  a  truly  muscular  grasp  and  unyielding 
tenacity  with  which  he  clung  to  his  opinions,  the  firmness  of 
his  mind  and  the  energy  of  his  will  were  presented  in  their 
extreme  aspects.  But  no  dispassionate  observer  questioned 
the  supreme  love  of  Justice  and  the  apostolic  devotion  to 
Truth  which  lifted  him  above  the  plane  of  the  common  mind, 
and  rendered  him  invulnerable  to  the  ordinary  temptations 
of  the  world.  He  was  as  firm  in  his  virtues  as  he  was  uncom- 
promising in  his  opinions."  His  life  conduct  was  without 
spot  and  above  suspicion.  And  it  was  also  recorded  that  he 
was  a  high-minded  and  public-spirited  gentleman — just  and 
honorable  in  all  his  dealings — constant  in  his  friendships — 
faithful  in  prosperity  and  adversity — ardent  and  disinterested 
in  his  attachment  to  his  country — bold  and  zealous  in  the 
pursuit  of  truth. 


ROBERT  HARE 
In  Advanced  Age 
From  a  Photograph 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  493 

"  There  have  been  many  more  attractive  lecturers — no  one 
more  earnestly  intent  in  instructing  his  class;  and,  certainly, 
no  one  .  .  *  performed  his  experiments  on  such  a  large 
scale,  and  with  what  might  almost  be  called  '  grand  appara- 
tus ' — more  especially  when  he  wished  to  exhibit  the  wonders 
of  electricity ....  It  must  have  seemed  to  his  auditors  that 
when  he  sometimes  paused  in  the  very  midst  of  an  explana- 
tion, it  was  from  a  want  of  clear  conception  of  his  subject,  or 
for  words ;  not  so — but  because  at  the  moment,  a  new  thought 
would  present  itself,  and  he  straightway  allowed  himself  to 
imagine  the  new  combinations  and  results  that  must  follow." 

In  person  Robert  Hare  was  portly,  hale  and  prepossess- 
ing. He  was  above  the  middle  height,  had  a  dark  keen  eye 
and  "  was  vivacious  and  agreeable  in  conversation."  His 
head  was  large  and  of  noble  mould;  no  stranger  could  meet 
him  without  being  impressed  by  a  figure  of  such  grandeur, 
and  a  head  and  features  so  remarkable. 

He  was  an  ardent  patriot,  "  who  loved  his  country  and 
cherished  its  institutions  not  for  office  or  emolument,  which 
he  never  sought  or  received,  but,  from  pure  and  lofty  motives. 
He  was  of  the  school  of  Washington — an  enthusiastic  ad- 
mirer of  that  great  man — a  federalist,  while  that  primeval 
party  had  a  name  and  retained  vitality,  and  when  it  passed 
.  .  .  he  was  found  among  the  Whigs.  He  occasionally 
wrote  upon  the  great  political  and  financial  questions  which 
agitated  the  public  mind  (pp.  21,  217).  These  discussions, 
like  all  his  writings,  were  always  marked  by  vigorous  thought, 
large  vision  and  elevated  patriotism."  He  loved  literature 
and  his  philosophy  was  sometimes  softened  by  listening  to 
the  Muses. 

One  admiring  writer  said:  "  When  I  looked  upon  his  ma- 
jestic form  a  few  months  before  his  death,  it  was  erect  and 
commanding  as  ever  before.  He  stood  with  manly  firmness 
under  the  weight  of  many  years,  and  walked  with  a  measured 


494  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

but  elastic  step,  never  bending  beneath  the  burden.  Not  a 
nerve  was  unstrung,  nor  had  his  physical  frame  been  ma- 
terially enfeebled  by  the  earnest  labors  of  a  long  and  useful 
life.  In  his  organic  structure  and  the  Roman  firmness  of 
his  character  he  was  like  the  mountain  oak,  while  the  maturity 
of  his  mind  was  unaccompanied  by  the  ordinary  physical 
infirmities  of  old  age.  .  .  ." 

And  his  old  Faculty  expressed  its  feelings  of  respect "  for 
the  memory  of  one  who  has  stood  either  in  the  relation  of 
colleague  or  preceptor  to  each  individual  present "  in  these 
words: 

Resolved — 

That  the  exalted  character  and  brilliant  career  of  Dr.  Hare, 
whose  far  spread  reputation  both  in  foreign  lands  and  in 
his  native  country,  will  long  survive  him,  are  a  just  source 
of  gratification  and  pride  to  the  department  of  the  University 
with  which  he  was  so  long  connected,  and  which  has  been 
eminently  benefited  by  his  labors  as  an  experimental  chemist 
and  philosopher. 

That  it  is  a  subject  of  pleasing  reflection,  that  his  life,  devoted 
to  the  calm  pursuit  of  science,  and  an  earnest  desire  to 
benefit  his  fellow  beings,  has  peacefully  terminated  at  a  ripe 
old  age,  in  the  cheerful  prospect  of  future  happiness.  And 
that  these  resolutions  be  entered  on  the  minutes  of  the  Faculty, 
and  that  a  copy  of  them  be  transmitted  to  the  family  of  the 
deceased.  R.  E.  Rogers, 

Dean  of  the  Medical  Faculty. 

When  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  an- 
nounced the  death  of  ROBERT  HARE,  one  of  the  principal 
benefactors  of  the  Institution,  and  its  first  honorary  member, 
Professor  Bache  gave  an  account  of  the  life,  character  and 
scientific  researches  of  Dr.  Hare,  and  offered  the  following 
resolutions : 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  495 

Resolved,  That  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion have  learned  with  deep  regret  the  decease  of  one  of  the 
earliest  and  most  venerated  honorary  members  of  the  estab- 
lishment, Robert  Hare,  M.D.,  of  Philadelphia,  late  pro- 
fessor of  chemistry  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Resolved,  That  the  activity  and  power  of  mind  of  Dr. 
Hare,  shown  through  a  long  and  successful  career  of  physical 
research,  the  great  fertility  of  invention,  the  happy  adapta- 
tions to  matters  of  practical  life,  and  the  successful  grappling 
with  questions  of  high  theory  in  physical  science,  have  placed 
him  among  the  first  in  his  country  of  the  great  contributors 
to  knowledge,  clarum  et  venerabile  nomen. 

Resolved,  That  while  we  deplore  the  loss  of  this  great 
and  good  man,  who  has  done  so  much  to  keep  alive  the  flame 
of  science  in  our  country  in  past  days,  we  especially  mourn 
the  generous  patron  of  our  Institution,  the  sympathizing 
friend  of  the  youth  of  some  of  us,  and  the  warm-hearted 
colleague  of  our  manhood. 

Resolved,  That  we  offer  to  the  bereaved  family  of  Dr. 
Hare  our  sincere  condolence  in  the  loss  which  they  have 
sustained  by  his  death. 

We  have  become  acquainted,  by  the  accounts  given  upon 
preceding  pages  in  the  letters  there  recorded  and  in  the  nu- 
merous communications  published  by  Hare  during  the  fifty 
years  of  his  devotion  to  science,  with  his  achievements.  It  is 
probably  not  so  easy  to  evaluate  them.  His  contemporaries, 
as  seen,  considered  him  a  real  leader  and  frankly  acknowl- 
edged the  high  position  to  which  he  had  attained.  There 
existed  no  jealousy  in  their  hearts.  They  recognized  the 
value  and  high  character  of  his  contributions.  Measured  by 
present-day  standards,  many  of  these  contributions  lose  their 
value,  but  even  in  retrospect  Hare's  labors  cannot  fail  to  fill 
the  student  of  science  with  wonder.  Let  us  transport  our- 
selves in  thought  to  the  days  in  which  Hare  wrought.  It 


496  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

was — the  beginning  at  least, — just  as  the  Nineteenth  Century 
opened,  and  what  then  was  the  condition  of  chemistry  in  our 
country?  Who  were  the  leaders  and  what  had  they  accom- 
plished? At  that  period  Woodhouse  was  perhaps  the  ablest 
and  most  eminent  representative  of  the  Science.  He  was 
a  pupil  of  Lavoisier  and  had  studied  in  England.  Hare 
always  regarded  Woodhouse  as  his  teacher,  as  the  one  who 
pointed  out  to  him  the  ways  then  known  in  experimental 
chemistry,  but  the  very  first  product  of  Hare's  independent 
thought — the  oxy-hydrogen  blow-pipe — far  surpassed  any- 
thing done  by  Woodhouse,  or  by  any  other  chemical 
worker  in  this  country.  It  was  in  truth  an  epoch-making 
contribution.  Lavoisier  may  have  burned  oxygen  and  hy- 
drogen together,  but  he  absolutely  failed  to  observe  the  in- 
tense heat  of  their  flame.  Hare  discovered  it  and  applied 
it.  Chemists  very  probably  were  longing  for  greater  heat  to 
carry  out  some  of  their  problems,  or  at  least  to  learn  what 
would  occur  if  bodies  could  be  exposed  to  temperatures  higher 
than  those  to  which  they  were  accustomed.  It  was  this  de- 
sideratum which  Hare  brought  to  them.  In  more  modern 
times  chemists  again  sought  high  temperatures  and  when 
these  were  placed  at  their  disposal  through  the  electric  arc 
by  Moissan  and  Acheson  astonishing  results  came  forth.  A 
new  era  opened  up.  So  with  Hare's  discovery  there  came 
the  ability  to  melt  refractory  bodies.  In  this  class  was 
platinum.  The  ease  with  which  it  was  rendered  molten  and 
the  readiness  with  which  it  could  then  be  worked  led  to  the 
inauguration  of  the  platinum  industry  under  the  direction 
of  a  pupil  of  Hare — one  named  J.  Bishop,  founder  of  the 
well-known  works  located  at  Malvern,  Penna.  Another  ap- 
plication of  Hare's  discovery  was  the  lime-light — the  Drum- 
mond  Light.  We  are  informed  that  these  were  used  in  light- 
houses on  the  coast  to  guide  the  mariner  safely  in  his  course. 
Our  heart's  gratitude  went  to  Davy  for  the  noble,  humane 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  497 

discovery  made  in  the  miner's  lamp — the  Davy  Safety  Lamp ! 
No  wonder  thousands  of  noble  toilers  down  in  the  bowels 
of  Mother  Earth  gathered  on  one  occasion  to  express  their 
deepest  gratitude  for  his  efforts  for  them.  Should  the  light- 
houses be  looked  upon  with  any  less  regard?  To  those  who 
go  down  to  sea  in  ships — that  bright  beacon  light  on  the 
strange  shore  does  mean  peace,  comfort  and  safety;  to  its 
perfection  Hare  paid  his  tribute. 

Places  of  interest  to  chemists  are  the  great  industrial 
plants  using  untold  stores  of  electric  energy  to  carry  forward 
certain  chemical  processes.  Among  these  may  be  classed  the 
production  of  caustic  by  the  electrolysis  of  salt,  using  a  cathode 
of  mercury.  This  last  feature  had  its  birth  in  that  early 
experiment  in  the  preparation  of  calcium,  when  Hare,  for 
the  first  time,  used  mercury  as  cathode  (p.  321)  in  the  elec- 
trolysis of  aqueous  calcium  chloride.  It  is  a  fact,  and  why 
should  it  not  be  acknowledged?  He  did  not  seek  caustic, 
but  the  novelty  was  the  employment  of  mercury  as  a  cathode 
in  an  aqueous  electrolyte.  From  the  purely  analytical  side 
it  is  the  fore-runner  of  all  that  in  recent  years  has  been  made 
possible  with  mercury  as  a  cathode.  Considering  these  facts, 
this  contribution  from  Hare  surely  has  decided  merit. 

His  attraction  to  electricity,  his  familiarity  with  the  vol- 
taic source  of  it,  the  knowledge  of  the  accomplishments  of 
Davy,  his  constant  pondering  on  the  fundamental  problems 
elucidated  by  Faraday — all  these,  with  the  additional  knowl- 
edge that  none  of  the  existing  sources  of  voltaic  electricity 
were  satisfactory,  carried  him  forward  in  his  studies  until 
he  evolved  the  calorimotor,  but  better,  in  many  respects,  the 
remarkable  deflagrator  so  highly  prized  by  Faraday  (p.  131 ) . 
In  these  again  Hare  advanced  the  lines  of  human  knowledge, 
laid  foundations  upon  which  others  built  to  greater  advantage. 
In  it  all  there  is  manifest  the  pioneer,  blazing  the  way  for 
progress  and  improvement. 

32 


498  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

In  the  field  of  analysis,  particularly  that  of  gas  analysis, 
Hare  must  be  given  a  high  place.  He  never  developed  a 
method  for  the  determination  of  a  metal  or  for  its  separation 
from  its  associates,  or  did  he  even  improve  some  well-known 
procedure,  but  in  studying  his  eudiometers,  presented  in 
such  a  variety  of  forms,  the  conviction  flashes  promptly  over 
one's  mind  that  herein  he  was  a  true  pioneer.  Much  of 
his  apparatus  is  cumbersome  and  at  first  glance  difficult  to 
manipulate,  but  on  closer  observation  simplicity  is  noted  and 
ease  in  manipulation  makes  itself  felt  as  certain.  The  writer 
has  no  desire  to  detract  in  the  slightest  from  the  splendid 
forms  of  gas  apparatus  evolved  during  the  last  thirty  or 
forty  years,  but  a  careful  study  of  the  forms  described  by 
Hare  makes  him  feel  that  in  them  are  many  of  the  most 
cherished  ideas  of  the  later  and  more  satisfactory  apparatus. 
His  hope  is  that  the  credit  due  Hare  for  his  early  efforts  in 
this  direction  may  be  paid.  Further,  it  is  evident  from  Hare's 
writings  that  before  very  large  classes  he  actually  performed 
accurate  gas  analysis,  and  also  demonstrated  gas  composition 
as  is  done  to-day  by  many  teachers  with  the  elaborate  and 
elegant  apparatus  of  Hofmann. 

Nothing,  probably,  produced  such  a  profound  impression 
for  years  as  did  the  discovery  of  the  electric  furnace,  and 
yet  on  turning  to  p.  315  we  have  described  for  us  an  actual 
electric  furnace  constructed  by  Hare,  with  which  he  succeeded 
in  isolating  calcium,  in  preparing  calcium  carbide,  which  gave 
to  him  acetylene  (not  recognized  by  him)  and  the  most  strik- 
ing result  of  all  the  conversion  of  Charcoal  (amorphous  car- 
bon) into  graphite!  How  is  all  this  to  be  regarded?  Is  it 
to  be  designated  as  primitive?  Yes,  it  is  that;  but,  does  it 
not  stamp  its  originator  as  a  true  pioneer  in  a  field  which 
to-day  is  cultivated  most  assiduously  and  extensively  with 
astonishing  outcome?  Probably  none  of  those  who  have 
developed  the  field  of  practical  electro-chemistry  have  ever 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  499 

read  a  description  of  Hare's  furnace,  but  it  was  built  by  him 
and  with  its  assistance  he  obtained  products  which  then  called 
forth  little  enthusiasm,  then  dropped  from  view,  and  which 
are  now  of  common  occurrence.  A  perusal  of  Hare's  con- 
tributions, a  thoughtful  study  of  the  various  forms  of  ap- 
paratus which  he  devised  cannot  fail  to  impress  one  with  the 
truth  of  the  saying,  "  Despise  not  the  day  of  small  things!  " 
His  excursions  into  the  organic  field  did  not  lead  to  any 
remarkable  conclusions ;  yet,  they  were  pioneer  efforts.  From 
such  meagre  information  as  can  be  had,  it  is  known  that  he 
never  enjoyed  any  instruction  on  the  problems  in  this  domain, 
so  that  he  pursued  his  customary  method  of  trying  out  and 
recording  the  results  which  are  most  interesting  and  instruc- 
tive. So  it  was  in  his  isolation  of  certain  elements,  e.g.,  boron 
and  silicon,  where  the  methods  bear  ear-marks  or  germs  of 
later,  more  successful  procedures.  The  gratifying  feature 
about  all  of  Hare's  work  is  the  fact  that  it  distinguished  its 
author  as  an  actual  doer.  He  wrote  little,  comparatively 
speaking,  unless  experiment  obliged  him  to  make  record  of 
his  observations. 

Upon  Silliman  the  death  of  Hare  produced  a  profound 
effect.  His  loss  none  could  measure.  As  boys — yes,  boys — 
for  they  had  barely  passed  the  teens  when  their  paths  crossed 
and  together  they  began  to  sound  the  depths  of  chemistry 
by  experiment.  Through  life  they  shared  their  problems. 
Indeed,  the  picture  of  their  work  is  a  most  happy  one  to  con- 
template. Their  correspondence,  if  it  were  possible  to  get 
it  all  together,  but  alas,  this  is  beyond  hope,  would  reveal  a 
remarkable  friendship.  Reference  has  been  made  to  that  of 
Wohler  and  Liebig,  but  with  Hare  and  Silliman  the  ties 
were  just  as  close,  intimate  and  affectionate.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  Hare  ever  failed  to  acquaint  Silliman  with  his  diffi- 
culties, scientific  or  personal.  The  relations,  too,  of  their 
families  were  so  happy  and  intimate.  The  writer  often  dwelt 


500  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

upon  the  possible  feeling  of  Silliman  when  Hare,  in  the  later 
years  of  his  life,  let  his  thoughts  and  interest  be  diverted  to 
spiritualism.  Naturally,  he  kept  nothing  from  Silliman.  A 
copy  of  the  cherished  volume  on  this  subject  was,  of  course, 
sent  to  that  colleague  whose  opinions  he  sought  and  whose 
affection  was  to  him  as  the  breath  of  life.  In  casting  about 
the  following  letter  from  Silliman  was  discovered.  It  has 
told  the  writer  all  he  wished  to  know.  It  is  a  noble,  lofty 
and  grand  letter;  it  was  written  quite  early  in  1857,  and 
reached  Hare  before  his  death.  It  cannot  but  have  made 
some  impression  upon  the  man  whose  life  work  we  have  been 
so  intently  reviewing.  It  reads : 

"  My  dear  Hare, 

In  return  for  your  present  at  Albany,  I  request  you  to 
accept,  as  a  proof  of  my  kind  regard  and  good- will,  a  small 
volume,  entitled,  "  The  Christ  of  History."  It  goes  to  you 
by  the  mail  which  conveys  this  letter.  As  I  have  perused 
with  respectful  attention  your  work  on  Spiritualism,  I  ask 
that  you  will  in  turn  read  this  little  book,  which  presents  a 
view  of  the  Saviour,  to  my  mind  both  original  and  convincing. 
Four  historians,  writing  without  consent  and  independently 
of  each  other,  concur  in  presenting  a  character  of  celestial 
elevation  and  goodness, — such  a  character  as  has  never  been 
presented  before  or  since  in  human  history,  nor  conceived 
of  by  the  mind  of  man.  The  narrative  of  his  life,  his  acts, 
his  teachings,  his  example,  his  death,  and  his  resurrection, 
proves  his  divinity, — divinity  associated  with  humanity,  that 
thus  he  might  be  our  brother  in  sympathy,  both  in  joy  and 
sorrow, — a  union  incomprehensible  to  our  finite  minds,  but 
not  more  so  than  that  of  our  immortal  souls  with  our  mortal 
bodies.  The  little  volume  which  I  now  send  you  comprises, 
as  you  are  aware,  but  a  small  portion  of  the  copious  evidence 
which  supports  the  divine  origin  of  the  Scriptures.  The  Old 
Testament,  marked  by  the  peculiarities  of  the  ages  and  coun- 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  501 

tries  which  it  commemorates,  with  occasional  openings  into 
the  future  world,  holds  out  in  prominent  relief  the  interests 
of  the  present  world;  while  the  New  Testament,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  prophecies  in  the  Old  Testament,  brings  life 
and  immortality  fully  to  light  through  the  Saviour.  Had 
your  course  of  research  been  as  fully  devoted  to  these  sub- 
jects as  it  has  been  to  physical  science,  I  trust  you  would  not 
have  been  an  unbeliever;  and  it  is  even  now  not  too  late  to 
ascertain  whether  the  Bible  is  really,  as  you  intimate,  a  cun- 
ningly, or  even  a  clumsily,  devised  fable.  Should  you,  to 
say  no  more,  view  the  "  Christ  of  History  "  as  I  do,  you  may 
have  occasion  to  review  the  position  you  have  taken,  which 
appears  to  me  full  of  danger.  I  must  confess  that  I  closed 
your  volume  with  very  painful  emotions,  and  my  mind  has 
anxiously  balanced  between  the  duty  which  it  seemed  to  me 
I  owed  to  my  early  and  constant  friend,  and  my  despondency 
as  to  my  power  to  produce  any  salutary  effect  upon  his  mind. 
At  last,  after  much  consideration,  I  have  concluded  to  address 
to  you  a  few  remarks,  in  a  spirit  of  perfect  kindness  and  affec- 
tionate interest,  but  of  deep  and  anxious  concern.  .  *.  •  , 
My  dear  Hare,  I  cannot  desert  my  Saviour, — him  who  spoke 
as  never  man  spake,  while  he  knew  what  was  in  man;  who 
has  paid  my  debt  when  I  was  bankrupt;  and  who  sustained 
in  my  stead  the  penalties  of  a  violated  law; — I  cannot  desert 
him,  and  repose  my  confidence  in  the  visions  of  so-called 
mediums.  You  and  I  are  now  old  men,  and  the  time  is  not 
remote — it  may  be  very  near — when  we  shall  pass  into  the 
real  world  of  spirits,  into  the  presence  of  God,  and,  as  millions 
believe  with  me,  into  the  presence  of  the  holy  angels,  and  of 
the  Saviour,  and  of  the  countless  host  of  the  spirits  whom  He 
has  redeemed.  You  may  remember  that,  at  an  early  period, 
we  conversed  much  and  freely  on  the  Christian  faith;  but, 
as  we  did  not  agree,  and  as  I  saw  no  hope  of  convincing  you, 
while  you,  with  a  spirit  of  candor  and  kindness,  appeared  not 


502  THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  HARE 

to  wish  to  invalidate  my  belief,  we  tacitly  dropped  the  sub- 
ject. But,  during  more  than  half  a  century,  we  have  main- 
tained a  friendly  communion  on  matters  of  science,  a  warm 
personal  friendship,  with  a  frequent  interchange  of  offices 
of  kindness.  I  was  unwilling  quite  to  relinquish  the  hope  that 
you  would  eventually  become  a  believer  in  divine  revelation, 
especially  as  a  happy  domestic  influence  on  the  part  of  one 
who,  through  many  years,  has  worthily  possessed  your  con- 
fidence, respect,  and  love,  leaned  altogether  in  the  right 
direction.  Your  course  as  a  man  of  science  has  been  honor- 
able, and  duly  and  justly  honored  by  your  country  and  in 
other  lands;  while  I,  as  your  friend,  have  not  been  slow  to 
proclaim  your  merits  and  vindicate  your  claims.  It  would 
have  been  happy  if  your  public  career  had  ended  with  science. 
.  .  .  You  will  be  hurt — I  fear  you  will  be  offended — by 
my  plainness ;  but  when  you  realize  that  this  is  the  strongest 
proof  I  have  ever  given  you  of  that  friendship  which  you  your- 
self have  valued,  and  which  has  been  coextensive  with  our 
acquaintance,  and  almost  with  our  lives,  you  will  then  per- 
ceive that  these  are  indeed  the  faithful  wounds  of  a  friend. 
As  one  of  your  oldest  and  most  faithful  surviving  friends, 
with  a  spirit  grieved  but  not  alienated,  with  hope  depressed 
but  not  in  despair,  I  have  now  relieved  my  mind  from  a  pain- 
ful sense  of  responsibility.  I  stand  acquitted  to  my  own 
conscience,  to  you  and  to  God;  and  I  earnestly  pray  now, 
as  heretofore,  that,  under  a  divine  influence,  you  may  see  the 
spiritual  world,  as  I  think  I  see  it,  through  a  divine  revela- 
tion, commensurate  with  time  and  reaching  through  eternity. 
I  will  still  hope  that  you  may  seek  and  find  salvation  through 
the  Redeemer,  and  that  through  his  intercession  we  may 
rejoice  together  in  acceptance  at  the  great  day  before  the 
throne  of  God,  our  sins  and  follies  being  mercifully  forgiven. 
Pardon  me  if,  in  my  honest  zeal  for  your  welfare  in  both 
worlds,  I  have  transcended  the  limits  of  that  kindness  and 


THIRD  PERIOD,  1847-1858  503 

courtesy  which  we  have  always  maintained  towards  each  other, 
and  I  beg  you  to  accept  this  letter  as  a  proof  that  I  am  still, 
as  ever,  Your  faithful  friend, 

B.  Sffliman." 

This  may  well  bring  us  to  the  close  of  the  life  sketch  of 
Robert  Hare,  an  experimentalist  of  extraordinary  ability. 
Therein  lay  the  keynote  of  his  great  career.  Those  who  have 
perused  his  controversial  papers,  especially  those  on  the  con- 
stitution of  salts  and  halides  of  various  kinds,  find  him  a 
master  even  to-day.  Such  testimony  is  seen  in  the  quotation 
on  p.  215  from  that  master  experimenter  and  investigator — 
Ira  Remsen.  But  Hare's  work  speaks  for  itself,  and  we  of 
the  present  surely  rejoice  in  and  are  proud  of  his  splendid 
contributions,  of  the  fact  that  he  was  an  enthusiastic  pioneer 
in  chemical  science,  that  he  won  a  place  in  the  foremost  ranks 
of  the  world's  scientists  and  last,  but  not  least,  that  he  was 
"  an  American  chemist." 


INDEX 


Acetous  fermentation,  359 

Acid,  251,  252,  288 

Acidifying  principle,  343 

Acidity,  definition  of,  242,  251,  252,  344 

Air  pump,  191 

Alcoholic  fermentation,  360 

Alkalinity,  293,  345 

Alkanet,  a  substitute  for  litmus,  109,  212 

Amalgam  ammonium,  313 

Amalgam  calcium,  312 

American  Journal  of  Science,  14,  250,  310, 

371;  founding  of,  80 
American  Philosophical  Society,  2,  20,  216, 

321,  371,  423;  transactions  of,  310 
Ammonia,  synthesis  of,  201 
Amphide  salts,  262 
Amphigene,  223,  224 
Amphydric  acids,  291 
Anhydrous  prussic  acid,  194 
Anion,  290 
Apparatus  for  separating  carbonic  oxide 

from  carbonic  acid,  203 
Artificial  camphor,  212 
Attrition  of  quartz,  484 

B 

Bache,  Franklin,  212 

Bank  checks,  28 

Bank  of  North  America,  1 

Banking  system,  suggestions  for  reforma- 
tion of,  218 

Bank  paper,  28,  29 

Banks,  29,  217 

Barker,  480 

Barometer,  gauge  eudiometer,  182 

Barton,  Benjamin  Smith,  6 

Basacigen  bodies,  247,  344;  elements,  334, 
335 

Base,  251,  252,  288 

Basidity,  252 

Benzule,  274 

Berg,  480 

Bergman,  221 

Berzelius,  2,  128,  204,  219,  221,  224,  230, 
233,  234,  235,  237,  242,  247;  nomencla- 
ture of,  222,  226,  234;  double  salts  of,  229; 
and  halogen  bodies,  244;  letter  to  Hare, 
238 

Bishop,  Joachim,  5 

Bishop's  platinum  works,  5 

Blowpipe,  5,  12 


Bonsdorff,  229,  346 

Boron,  208 

Boruret,  247 

Bowen,  George  T.,  212 

Boye,  Martin,  212,  213,  306 

British  Association,  296 


Cadwalader,  45,  46 

Calcium,  320;  isolation  of,  311,  313 

Calcium  carbide,  319;  light,  15 

Caloric,  66,  124 

Calorimeter,  66,  70,  71,  76,  77,  78,  87,  110, 

125,  148,  149,  150, 152, 171;  power  of,  75 
Camphor,  artificial,  212 
Cancrine,  Count,  205 
Carbonicometer,  182 
Carburet,  247 
Catalytic  changes,  365 
Cathion,  290 
Cathode,  279 
Chapman,  Dr.,  18,  58 
Charcoal  and  the  calorific  agent,  73 
Chemical    School    of    the    University    of 

Pennsylvania,  4 

Chemical  Society  of  Philadelphia,  2,  3,  4 
Chemistry,  definitions  of,  325;  in  medical 

education,  485;  of  compound  radicals,  382 
Children's  apparatus,  69,  114 
Chimney  of  mica,  202 
Chloroplatinate  of  potassium,  247 
Chyometer,  189 
Clarke,  14,  15,  48,  49,  52 
Classification  and  nomenclature,  339 
Clouds,  460 
Clymer,  George,  17,  36 
Comburant,  236 
Commerce,  22 

Compendium  of  chemistry,  251,  325,  370 
Compound  blowpipe,  5;  elements,  382 
Congress,  1 

Constitution  of  matter,  425 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  1 
Cooper,  Thomas,  40,  49,  62;  to  the  trustees 

of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  58 
Coxe,  John  Redman,  19,  40,  44,  57 
Credit,  26,  217;  paper,  28,  217 
Cruikshank  trough,  65,  103 
Cryophorus,  190 
Culinary  paradox,  190 
Cyanogen,  230,  254,  382 
Cyanure  ferrique  acide,  235 

505 


506 


INDEX 


D 

Dalton,  65,  295,  296,  323;  letter  to,  296 

Daltonian  theory,  222 

Daniell,  Professor,  202,  256,  275,  276,  278, 
280 

Davy,  2,  40,  65,  68, 100,  114, 124, 132, 133, 
137 

Death  of  Robert  Hare,  492;  action  of 
medical  faculty,  494;  action  of  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  494 

De  BonsdorfiV  238,  239,  241,  243,  251,  265 

Debt,  publick,  29 

De  Butts,  181 

Declaration  of  Independence,  1 

Definitions  of  chemistry,  325,  326 

Deflagrator,  88,  90,  92,  93,  94,  95,  98,  99, 
100, 101, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107,  111,  112, 
114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 122, 128, 129, 
149,  151 

Deflagration  of  carburets,  315;  of  mer- 
cury, 113 

Degrees  of  oxidizement,  340 

De  Luc's  column,  69,  100,  102,  125,  194 

Despretz,  130 

Dewees,  Dr.,  19,  113 

Dextrine,  351 

Discharger  for  deflagrating  wires,  192 

Dorsey,  Dr.  John  Syng,  17,  44 

Double  salts  of  Berzelius,  251 

Dove,  473,  475 

Drummond  light,  5,  15 

Du  Faye,  181 

Duffay,  doctrine  of,  336 

Du  Long  and  Petit,  65,  329 

Dumas,  219,  349 

D'Wolf,  212 

E 

Eckfeldt,  205 

Eldred  Grayson,  444 

Electrical  discriminator,  194;  furnace,  319; 
intensity,  126;  storms,  468 

Electricity,  66;  in  the  phenomena  of  nature, 
362 

Electrodes,  195 

Electrolyte,  275 

Electro-magnetism,  371 

Elements,  table  of,  324,  329 

Emporium  of  arts  and  sciences,  40 

Espy,  464,  469,  472,  475 

Essay  on  credit,  217 

Essential  oils,  antiseptic  power  of,  299 

Ethyl  perchlorate,  212,  354 

Eudiometer,  barometer  gauge,  190;  mer- 
curial, 189;  sliding  rod,  189;  subsidiary, 
182 

Experiments  of  Patterson  and  Lukens,  71 

Experimental  investigation  of  the  spirit 
manifestations,  482 

Explosion  of  nitre,  476 


Faraday,  195,  278,  280,  329,  330,  382,  423. 
424,  428,  432,  436;  and  the  deflagrator, 
132;  letter  from  Hare,  384,  407;  letter  to 
Hare,  397,  422 

Fermentation,  359 

Firing  of  gunpowder,  201 

Fluoborate  of  potassium,  234 

Fluoboric  acid,  233 

Fluohydric  acid,  233 

Fluohydrosilicic  acid,  249 

Fluorine,  231 

Fluorure  silico-potassique,  234 

Fluosilicic  acid,  233 

Foggy  air  not  a  conductor  of  electricity,  321 

Fox,  Edward,  62 

Franklin,  1,  19,  181 

Franklinian  Theory,  336 

Frazer,  letter  from  Hare,  484 

Free  electricity,  434 

Freezing  water,  321 

Fulminating  silver,  205;  powder,  212 

Furnace,  electric,  319 


Gales,  445 

Gallatin,  Albert,  216 

Gallows  screw,  203 

Galvanic  action,  66,  68,  74;  apparatus,  71; 

deflagrator,  186;  fluid,  69;  machine,  194, 

polarity,  346 

Galvanism,  69,  74;  progress  of,  371 
Galvanometer,  194 
Generation  of  hydrochloric  acid,  203 
Gerhardt,  7 

Gibbs,  Wolcott,  213,  285,  311 
Gilmore,  11 
Graham,  258,  261,  265 
Graham's  nomenclature,  261 
Graphite,  319 
Grayson,  Eldred,  444 
Gravity,  433 
Great  Britain,  23 
Gregory,  259 
Gross,  Samuel  D.,  216 
Gulf  stream,  447 
Gunpowder,  firing  of,  201 


Halogene,  223,  224 

Haloid  salts,  224 

Halosalts,  241 

Hare,  Charles  Willing,  3 

Hare,  Clark,  212 

Hare,  John  Powel,  3 

Hare,  Robert,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  11,  14,  15,  16, 

19,  20,  45, 54, 131,  205,  206,  210,  213,  242; 

on   acid  properties,   78;   apparatus  for 


INDEX 


507 


burning  tar,  77;  to  Berzelius,  286;  on 
caloric  and  electricity,  67;  children  of,  33; 
death  of,  492;  Doctor  of  Medicine,  12;  62; 
on  eudiometers,  82,  83,  84,  85,  86;  on 
galvanic  apparatus,  102;  on  heat,  light 
and  electricity,  132,  133;  hydrogen  flame 
rendered  luminous,  79;  letter  to  Franklin 
Bache,  479;  letter  to  Faraday,  384,  407; 
letter  to  John  Frazer,  484;  letter  to 
Silliman,  31,  33,  35,  39,  41,  43,  46,  53,  63, 
79,  81,  107,  110,  124,  128,  132,  155,  156, 
198,  220,  221,  295,  444;  letter  to  Trustees 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  37,  62; 
letter  to  Whewell,  429;  on  lightning  rods, 
168, 169, 170;  marriage,  33;  and  Olmsted, 
157,  158,  159,  160,  161,  162,  163,  164, 
165,  166,  167,  168;  Policy  and  Resources 
of  the  United  States,  a  Brief  View  of,  21; 
resignation  of  professorship,  438;  verses, 
481,  483;  verses  to  Washington,  38; 
verses  on  truth,  42;  in  William  and  Mary 
College,  54,  55,  56 

Hare's  American  porter,  3;  brewery,  3; 
electrical  plate  machine,  175;  laboratory, 
213;  laboratory,  description  of,  173,  174, 
175 

Heating  by  radiation,  319 

Heavy  oil  of  Serullas,  302 

Henry,  171,  185,  187 

Henry's  chemistry,  227 

Henry,  Joseph,  214 

Herschel,  465 

Hopkinson,  Joseph,  18 

Hurricanes,  468 

Hydracids,  231 

Hydrometers,  188 

Hydro-pneumatic  cistern,  184 


Ink,  black,  211 
Irving,  Washington,  216 
Isolation  of  calcium,  311,  313 
Isomerism,  248 


Kane,  259,  265,  269,  270 


Laurent,  7 

Letter  to  Dalton,  296 

Leyden  jar,  68,  436 

Liebig,  219,  308,  309,  355,  362,  372,  379, 

382,  384 

Liebig's  principles,  282 
Lime  light,  5 
Litrameter,  184,  203 
Loomis,  467 


M 

Maugham,  14 

Maritime  advantages,  25 

Matter  is  heavy,  429 

Matteucci,  281 

Mechanical  electricity,  100 

Meconic  acid,  309 

Meloni,  432 

Mercury  cathode,  311 

Metalloids,  235 

Meteorological  matters,  455 

Methylic  hyponitrous  ether,  355 

Mica  chimney,  202 

Minutes  of  chemical  instruction,  322 

Morris,  Robert,  1 

N 

Narcotised  laudanum,  309,  310 
New  theory  of  galvanism,  107 
Niaudet,  Alfred,  77 
Nitre,  explosion  of,  476 


Opium,  test  for,  309 
Organic  chemistry,  348 
Oxacids,  228 
Oxibases,  228 
Oxidizement,  236 
Oxyhydrogen  blowpipe,  5,  458 
Oxynitron,  291 
Oxysalts,  241 

P 

Paradox,  culinary,  190 
Perchloric  ether,  352 
Philadelphia,  1,  2 

Philadelphia,  Chemical  Society  of,  2 
Phosphorus,  319 
Phosphuret,  247 
Plant^,  77 
Platinum,  205 
Poems,  38,  42,  481,  483 
Policy  of  Washington,  22 
Portfolio,  444 

Potassium,  197;  filled  glass  tubes,  200;  pre- 
served in  glass,  199 
Powel,  John  Hare,  3,  45 
Priestley,  Joseph,  2 
Principles  of  Liebig,  257 
Prussian  blue,  197 
Psychic  facts,  483 
Pure  electricity,  67 
Pyrophorus,  197 
Pyroxylic  spirit,  306 

R 

Reaction,  326 
Redfield,  475 
Remsen,  Ira,  215,  503 


508 


INDEX 


356 


Rogers,  Robert  K,  813 
multiplier,  192 
34* 
348 
Count,  9. 137 


1,17.56 

S 


Ssfidsty,  §44.01 

Salt,  iO.  Mfcf88;  nuficals,  858.  88ft 
S50 


Sassafreine,  898 
Sassambrin.  811 
Scheele,itt 

f*  |  .         Q 

uevueiL,  8 
Sfficon,810 
,84*. 

Benjamin,  6.7, 8, 9, 18, 14. 15, 18. 
188,  816;  account  of  accident  to  Hare. 
805;  and  the  calorimotor.  77;  on  the 
blowpipe,  50;  and  the  Hare 
189,  130,  131.  138. 148, 143, 
144,  145.  147,  148;  letter  to  Hare,  108, 
116.  119, 138. 148.  153. 500 
SOver,  refining,  110 

14 

weights  by  Have,  40t 
Smith,  Thomas  P.,  10 

Institution,   814,   815,   816; 
tary  members  ot  816 
819 


the  Puritan,  444 
Storms,  by  Bedfield,  463 
Storms,  Law  of,  by  Dove,  473 
Soavin,808 

Suffrage,  system  of,  31 

807,  350;  from  sweet  potatoes,  807 


Sweet  potatoes,  807 
Sweet  spirit  of  nitre, 
~A    •ofammo  ' 
193,194 


of,  302 


Table  of , 

Tertium  quid,  £42 

Hienard,  886,  838,  350 

Theories  of  Ampere,  436,  437;  of  Da  Fay, 

436,  437;  of  Franklin,  436,  437 
Thomson,  66,  831,  865,  468 
Tornadoes,  451 
Tyler,  President,  55 


University  of  Pennsylvania,  8 

University    of    Pennsylvania,     Chemical 

School  of.4 
Ure.887,  307 

Ure's  dictionary  of  chemistry,  371 
Uret.887 

V 

VanMannn,96,97 

Vent  peg,  20 

Vinous  fermentation,  359 

Visit  to  Dr.  Hare,  197 

Volta,  8,  65,  69 

Voltak   apparatus,    66;    electricity.    371; 

pile,  66 

VoHapOe.91,  107 
Vohnnesoope,  188 

W 

Waihinsrton,  30:  versus  to.  3S;  polio  v  of,  23 
Water,  as  acid,  834;  as  base,  834;  bath,  204; 


Wei 


freezing  of,  by  sulphuric  acid,  195.  196 
eights,  by  Hare,  488 


and  Mary  College,  45,  54,  55,  56 
Willing,  Charles,  8 
Wffling,MsfpiUl,  8,3 
Wise,  Wm, 


476 


Wistar  Party,  816 
WoDaston,  66,  69,  96,  97,  118,  205 
Woodhouse,  James,  4,  5,  6,  7.  9,  16.  17,  18, 
44,65, 


Zamboni,  108,  185, 194 


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